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Compensatory Constitutionalism: The Function and Potential of Fundamental International Norms and Structures
Open accessAbstract
The article conceives international (or global) constitutionalism as a legal argument which recommends and strengthens efforts (legal and political) to compensate for ongoing de-constitutionalization on the domestic level. Although the notions ‘international constitution’ and ‘international constitutionalism’ have in recent years served as buzzwords in various discourses, the many meanings of those concepts have not yet been fully explored and disentangled. This paper suggests a specific understanding of those concepts. It highlights various aspects and elements of micro- and macro-constitutionalization in international law, and identifies anti-constitutionalist trends. On this basis, the paper finds that, although no international constitution in a formal sense exists, fundamental norms in the international legal order do fulfil constitutional functions. Because those norms can reasonably be qualified as having a constitutional quality, they may not be summarily discarded in the event of a conflict with domestic constitutional law. Because the relevant norms form a transnational constitutional network, and cannot be aligned in an abstract hierarchy, conflict resolution requires a balancing of interests in concrete cases. Finally, because constitutionalism historically and prescriptively means asking for a legitimate constitution, a constitutionalist reading of the international legal order provokes the question of its legitimacy. This question is pressing, because state sovereignty and consent are – on good grounds – no longer accepted as the sole source of legitimacy of international law. International constitutionalism – as understood in this paper – does not ask for state-like forms of legitimacy of a world government, but stimulates the search for new mechanisms to strengthen the legitimacy of global governance.
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“When courts operate free from political interference, they are better positioned to enforce constitutional guarantees and resolve disputes impartially (Peters, 2006).”
From The Role of Law in Strengthening Democratic Governance (2025) · cites this paper as Peters, 2006
In the citing paper
“Treaties and human rights conventions exert external pressure on governments to uphold democratic standards (Klabbers et al., 2009; Peters, 2006).”
From The Role of Law in Strengthening Democratic Governance (2025) · cites this paper as Peters, 2006
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“Similarly, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) plays a crucial role in enforcing legal norms across democratic nations, thereby strengthening governance through supranational legal accountability mechanisms (Peters, 2006).”
From The Role of Law in Strengthening Democratic Governance (2025) · cites this paper as Peters, 2006
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Metadata
- Authors
- PETERS, A.
- Affiliations
- Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (DE)
- Corresponding author
- PETERS, ANNE
- ORCID
- PETERS, ANNE
- Venue
- Leiden Journal of International Law
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2006-10
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 579-610
- ISSN
- 0922-1565 (ISSN-L)
- 1478-9698
- OpenAlex
- W2125278925
- Cited by
- 324
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 34 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 48.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Leiden Journal of International Law (publishedVersion)
- edoc (University of Basel) (acceptedVersion)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (submittedVersion)
- edoc (University of Basel)
- Funders
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Comparative constitutional jurisprudence studies
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › International Law and Human Rights
- Social Sciences › Law › Evolving Legal Systems and Governance
- Keywords
- international constitutionalism, constitutionalization of international law, anti-constitutionalism, conflict between international and domestic law, legitimacy of international law, global governance, state sovereignty, consent
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