EU Constitutionalism in the State Constitutional Tradition

Abstract

This paper sets out to examine whether and on what basis it is possible to 'carry over' the state constitutional tradition to the European Union context. It makes a case for a context-transcending five-dimensional conception of constitutionalism, embracing legal order, political system, self-authorization, societal integration and political reflexivity. It argues that the EU presently possesses a truncated constitutionalism in which only the first two dimensions are well-developed, and that its long-term legitimacy depends upon the fuller development of the last three dimensions - whether or not in the form of a documentary Constitution.