British ideas,American parliamentarism. Republican and Liberal echoes in the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787

The process of building the American Constitution had a powerful impact on society and politics by empowering the people. It acknowledged their sovereignty and the exercise and protection of their rights into the future. What stands out from a review of the original constitutions of the founding states is their repeated reliance on the principles of natural law and the widespread understanding that individuals are entitled by nature to enjoy of certain natural or inalienable rights. The Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787 drafted the constitution of the United States based directly on natural rights, including life, liberty, property and happiness as theorized by John Locke. At the same time, the people had an inherent right to live under a republican government, and possessed an inalienable right to reform or abolish governments that failed to secure these rights, or ruled without the consent of the governed: the framers relied on the classical republicanism of James Harrington (1611–77) which celebrated the ideals of virtuous citizenship in a republic. It is only in recent times that popular participation in constitution-making has been accommodated. Traditionally, as typified by the Constitutional Convention, attention is paid to the sovereignty of the people; if sovereignty is indeed vested in and flows from the people it is natural that they should determine how it should be delegated and exercised. From the Convention, key elements of the modern parliamentary system evolved to a more modern form of governmental system, a new constitutionalism. The idea that a written constitution spells out the supreme law of the land and sets limits on the ruling authorities has become the most significant element of American modernity.     

German influence on Italian jurists' perceptions of the British constitutional model in the late nineteenth century

In Great Britain, the Magna Carta of 1215 was regarded as the guarantor of parliamentary sovereignty for centuries. During the nineteenth century the Charter continued to be interpreted in law schools, particularly through William Blackstone's 1759 edition. By the mid-nineteenth century, both politicians and lawyers proceeded with a revision of the law, and provided the first Statute Laws Revision Act of 1856. Two further acts followed in 1861 and 1863, repealing hundreds of obsolete laws; subsequent legislation abrogated much of Magna Carta and, by the 1880s, even more chapters of the Charter were revoked. In the rest of Europe throughout the nineteenth century, eminent continental scholars were authoritative voices regarding the interpretation of the English juridical system. By examining historical, legal and political-theoretical aspects of the continental, particularly the German, reception of the English concept of law, the aim of this article is to contribute to a wider understanding of European constitutionalism of that time, since the nineteenth century can be considered a constitutional era. Various aspects of constitutional history both within and outside of continental Europe are examined from a comparative, juridical and historical perspective. In Italy, German studies on English constitutional and parliamentary history were translated and commented on. This article is a working hypothesis about the influence, or the rejection, of the legal system in place across the Channel. The essays by distinguished German jurists interpreting the English institutional inheritance were translated into Italian. These translations and, in particular, the comments thereon, reflect the road taken by Italian legal thought to reach a constitutional model and to gain an insight into what lessons Germans drew from the English legacy in order to form their own doctrinal opinion.     

Towards political integration in Europe: the involvement of national parliaments in European Union politics and policy-making

This article provides an overview of the life of the European Union over a period that has witnessed a number of historical international and institutional developments, and provides a politico-juridico-historical perspective on its growth. The article aims to examine the role of national parliaments in relation to increasing European legislative powers. The European Union is using these powers to ensure that non-European-Union states accept its rules as universal standards. At the same time, European foreign policy has expanded remarkably, reflecting its more prominent international role. The European Parliament is the world's first directly elected transnational parliament. In recent decades, the principles of human rights, peace, and democracy have reflected the deeply embedded values at the core of European integration since its inception, determining the evolution of the European Union from international actor to a model of democratization: a model promoting not only respect for human rights, but also democracy and peace, which have become concrete goals steering the European Union foreign policy.