Constitutional Legitimacy and Credible Commitments in the European Union

Abstract:  The idea that the European Union must not adopt a constitution is gaining ground in current legal research on European constitutionalism. The N-C (No Constitution) thesis is being forcefully defended, in particular, by authors in the 'contextual' or 'law in context' tradition. However, likewise using a 'contextual' methodology, in this article I argue that the N-C thesis is in many regards misplaced. In this work, I defend the idea that Europe must adopt a constitution for reasons of credibility. I also try to show the main pitfalls of the N-C thesis.     

论社会哲学视野中的人、社会共同体与宪法——兼评《欧盟宪法》

宪法是人为了自己的生存与发展有意识地组织社会共同体的规则,以及由该规则所构建的社会秩序。因此,宪法、人的生存与发展即人权、社会共同体三个范畴及其相互的关系是宪法社会学的基本问题:宪法的终极关怀是人的生存和发展,其首要功能在于组织自足与互助的社会共同体,这种观念不仅把宪法的历史与逻辑统一起来了,而且能够很好地解释《欧盟宪法》的历史必然性。     

城市土地“国家所有”的困惑与消解

本文从中国、美国、加拿大等国的比较分析出发,论证了土地所有权和使用权分离的可行性与必然性,纠正了1982年宪法一夜之间将城市私人土地"国有化"的简单化理解。这种错误理解不仅违背了尊重人权、法治、公正和市场规律的宪法精神,而且已经在实践中造成了极其严重的社会后果。世界各国的经验表明,所有权是可以分割的,名义所有权完全可以和实际使用权相分离。文章认为,对于城市"国有土地","全民"所有权只能是一种名义所有权,1982年宪法关于城市土地"国家所有"的规定并未剥夺任何个人或单位的土地使用权。     

论俄罗斯宪法法院对公民基本权利的保障

宪法诉讼是现代保障公民基本权利最为有效的方式。在俄罗斯,履行宪法诉讼职能的机构是宪法法院。实践中,宪法法院主要依托宪法诉愿制度,适用蕴含比例原则的俄罗斯宪法第55条第3款作为审查基准保障公民基本权利。此外,宪法法院还常在判决中援引国际条约和欧洲人权法院判例,其目的是用先进的权利保障标准来要求和促进俄罗斯的公民基本权利保障。     

宪法学的应有品质:以人为本、面向民众、扎根生活

82年宪法实施以来,我国宪法学研究取得了长足的进步,但也存在自身的不足,面临发展的困境。而造成困境的深刻缘由在于问题意识不强、与部门法学对话的意识和能力不强、本土意识不强、直接切入社会热点问题尤其是公民权利问题并加以解决的意识和能力不强等几个方面。要走出现实困境,必须以人为本、面向民众、关注民生、扎根生活,这是中国宪法学的应有品质,也是中国宪法学研究工作者的应有品质。     

欧盟宪治:一种宪政法理学解读

<欧盟宪法条约>在2005年遭遇挫折,原因是多方面的,或许民主的因素不可忽视,当然这还涉及到人们刘欧盟性质、特征以及宪法条约文本的理解.欧盟立宪应当是一个社会互动的过程,包括民众在内的各种社会力量通过谈判达成共识,这样产生的宪法才是一部欧洲人民的宪法,而非仅仅是一部欧洲国家间的宪法,也唯有如此才可能构建新的宪政秩序.而宪政法理学为我们研究欧盟立宪问题提供了概念分析工具.     

论宪法社会学的学科价值、思维方式与研究内容

宪法社会学是从外部视角来观察和审视宪法,进而对宪法现象进行整体和动态研究的一门交叉学科和基础性学科。整体性思维方式决定了宪法社会学主要研究动态的宪法或者说宪法过程,亦即研究宪法如何受社会影响以及宪法如何影响并改造社会,它为宪法社会学预设了极为广泛的研究内容。     

论党章与宪法的关系

文本意义上，党章与宪法分属不同规范体系，党章为全体党员的根本章程而宪法为全国各族人民的根本大法。调整党员内部关系是党章的本分，调整国家与公民之间的社会关系是宪法的本分。政治意义上，党章与宪法密不可分，二者的关系彰显着中国共产党执政权的合法性问题。人民主权理论是党章与宪法的政治契合，党章总纲与宪法序言是党章与宪法的文本契合。党章与宪法的契合途径表现为：党的活动必须立于宪法框架内；宪法的制订与修改须体现党章蕴含的政治价值与理念。     

安全抑或自由: 危机中的美国宪法简

危机时刻是验证法治国家体制适应性的真正时机，由于美国宪法没有紧急状态条款，在南北内战、一战二战、反恐战争等紧急时期美国总统往往行使“超宪法权限”侵犯公民基本权利。为保证危机中的宪法依然有效，处理好国会立法与总统紧急权力之间的重大分歧，作为制衡者的法院需要对宪法进行更加审慎的解释，但其所表现出来的实用主义政治立场变换和共和紧急法制观的转型，揭示了非常态下美国宪法解释的核心问题：要自由的宪法还是安全的宪法？这也正是当下危机频发背景下每个奉行法治和保障人权的国家面临的共同难题。     

自然的宪法与宪法的自然——解读柏拉图的宪政观

为摆脱人类政治的现代性危机,我们有必要回到古典政治哲学里去,回到柏拉图的世界中寻找宪法的本质,而宪法的本质也正是在于一种组成结构:自然的规律,可以视为其自身的宪法;而宪法的规律,就是要求宪法符合自然。宪法的萌芽,正是在这样的自然基础上诞生的。"宪法是公民的生活规范,宪法的权威根源于民众的生活"。宪政并不是一种形而上的价值构造,而是一种合乎自然的和谐的生活方式。     

两种宪法案件:从合宪性解释看宪法对司法的可能影响

碍于宪法的基本架构,违宪审查意义上的"宪法司法化"在我国绝无可能。但法官作为受宪法约束的公权力主体,基于其宪法义务,有在具体案件中对法律进行合宪性解释的必要。合宪性解释并非宪法解释,而是法律解释的一种方法。而且,合宪性解释已经从最初的法律解释方法转化成了法官的宪法义务。在部门法的研究中已经有在司法中进行合宪性解释的主张与尝试。合宪性解释可以在法律解释的体系解释、目的解释以及法外续造中应用。     

现代宪法的理论基础:自由主义抑或共和主义?

近代以来西方国家的宪法强调自由主义,以公民个人自由、权利的保障为核心来型塑各种制度。然而在现代社会,以自由主义为基础的宪法面临着困境,其需要从共和主义理论中汲取营养;中国宪法强调共和主义,需要用自由主义的核心价值弥补其不足。现代宪法的理论基础应该是自由主义与共和主义的有机结合。     

A European Constitution in a Multinational Europe or a Multinational Constitution for Europe?

Abstract: What is the role of the nation‐state in the process of European constitutional integration? How can we transcend our divisions without marginalising those who believe in them? This article critically analyses the theoretical bases of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe and tries to explain why its ratification is so problematic. Authors such as Habermas have argued that a new European model of social cohesion is needed, and Habermas suggests that the sense of ‘community’ in a democratic Europe should be founded exclusively on the acceptance of a patriotic constitution. However, this view is criticised by authors such as Weiler and MacCormick. In this article, I explain the limits of these theoretical analyses. I will argue that a European constitutional project can be more than formally legal only if two normative conditions are satisfied: it is the result of public debate and the European Constitution includes the procedures for the recognition of European national diversity. I suggest that a theory of constitutional multinationalism, similar to the one proposed by Tully, might provide an attractive model for a European social integration. The article is divided in two parts. In the first, I explain why Habermas’ constitutional patriotism or MacCormick's states based Europe cannot provide a convincing theoretical model for a socially and constitutionally integrated Europe. In the second part, I will give an outline of Tully's idea of multinational democracy as a model for a European constitutional integration.     

Moment of Stasis: The Successful Failure of a Constitution for Europe

The 2005 French and Dutch negative votes on the Constitution open up a space of conceptualisation, not only of Europe's relation to its demos, but significantly to its failures. Through a critical analysis of mainly Niklas Luhmann's systems theory, the article proposes taking a distance from traditional constitutional dogmatics that are no longer capable of dealing with the paradox of contemporary society, and more specifically with the eventual resurgence of the European project as one of absence and stasis: the two terms are used to explain the need, on the one hand, to maintain the 'absent community' of Europe, and, on the other, to start realising that any conceptualisation of the European project will now have to take place in that space of instability and contingency revealed by the constitutional failure. The relation between law and politics, the location of a constitution, the distinction between social and normative legitimacy, the connection between European identity and demos, and the concept of continuity between constitutional text and context are revisited in an attempt to trace the constitutional failure as the constitutional moment par excellence.     

论宪法与政治文明

在政治文明史上 ,宪法的产生具有里程碑的意义。宪法是权利的保障书 ,人权是政治文明的终极关怀 ;宪法是民主政治的法律化 ,民主政治是政治文明的保障 ;宪法是治国之法 ,法治是政治文明的基本运作方式 ;宪法是宪政的前提 ,宪政是政治文明的核心。宪法与政治文明相辅相成、不可分离     

在宪法与政党之间

宪法与政党之间的内在关联是:一方面,宪法源于政党,宪法是政党活动的产物,不同文化背景之下的政党制度塑造了不同类型的宪法制度;另一方面,政党依赖于宪法,执政党的执政地位尤其依赖于宪法提供的正当性与合法性。在当代中国的语境下思考宪法与政党之间的关系,可以发现这样一个现实:中国宪法是中国共产党领导人民制定的,中国宪法是党的主张的法律化——这种判断,已经得到了承认,但是,中国共产党享有的执政地位对于宪法的依赖关系,却没有引起足够的重视;因此,应当认真对待“中国共产党依宪执政”这样一个重大的时代课题。     

论宪法学的学科品格

科学研究的相对独立性是其学术性、科学性的前提条件,一门真正的社会科学学科必须拥有一种完整、独立的科学精神与学科品格。宪法学的学科品格是近现代宪法理论与宪法精神在宪法学学科上的固化,是宪法学研究对象、研究方法、研究意义及其价值取向的综合体现,也是宪法学区别于其他学科的标志所在。宪法学的学科品格主要体现在:宪法学是人权保障之学,是权力理性之学,也是依法治国之学与政治文明之学。     

宪法解释的可能性

中国宪法逐渐由文本融入社会现实,成为民众生活模式的一部分。因此需探讨宪法解释的必要性和可能性。需要以德国宪法解释模式为基础整合美国模式,形成中国的宪法解释模式。宪法解释由学说、操作、规范、程序构成,而生命体、约法、母法、根本法等宪法隐喻形成宪法解释的意义网络,宪法解释学有助于理解中国立宪政治的民情、生成对于宪法的信心乃至信仰、推动中国宪政的程序理性建设。     

论宪法监督的司法化

我国宪法确立了由最高国家权力机关监督宪法实施的模式 ,实践证明 ,这是一个失效的制度设计。失效的根本原因不在于宪法监督程序不完善 ,而在于这一模式背离了宪法监督的本质。宪法监督是多数民主的“制动器” ,唯有司法化的监督才能担此重任。司法性宪法监督与“议会至上”、“多数民主”是可以调和的。宪法是法律 ,然后才是最高法律 ,宪法的法律性也意味着宪法可以而且应当由司法化的机关加以适用。     

The Genesis of the Austrian Model of Constitutional Review of Legislation

Abstract The European model of the constitutional review of legislation, characterized by the concentration of the constitutional review power in a single constitutional court, had its origin in the Austrian Federal Constitution of 1920. This is all the more remarkable when one considers that this Constitution established at the same time a parliamentary system of government in a fairly radical form. As the author explains, this “invention” of a constitutional court is attributable to two factors. One factor is the federal aspect. The Court was conceived by the framers of the Austrian Federal Constitution of 1920 as an umpire between federal legislation and the legislation of the states or Länder. In this respect it was meant as a substitute for the principle of the priority of federal law over state or Land law. This is manifest in the initial draft of the Constitution, where actions on questions of the constitutionality of legislation could only be brought by the Federal government (against the legislation of one or another of the states or Länder) and by the State or Land governments (against federal legislation). Right from the beginning, however, the Court could examine a parliamentary act ex officio when it had to apply such an act in another proceeding. It was this power of the Court that triggered the development of constitutional review. Its exercise gradually transformed the Court into a guardian of the Constitution as a whole, in particular, the fundamental rights of citizens. The author traces this development in the context of the concept of state and law that prevailed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This concept included specific restrictions on constitutional review. On the basis of a different understanding of the functions of a constitution, the Court gave up these restrictions and followed the examples of the European Court of Human Rights, the German Constitutional Court and—indirectly—the American Supreme Court.