International Legal Constitutionalism, Legal Forms, and the Need for Villains

in A. Lang and A. Weiner (eds) Handbook on Global Constitutionalism (Forthcoming, Edward Elgar, 2017)

Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2016-36

Amsterdam Center for International Law No. 2016-15

27 Pages Posted: 10 Sep 2016

See all articles by Jean d'Aspremont

Jean d'Aspremont

University of Manchester - School of Law; Sciences Po Law School

Date Written: September 9, 2016

Abstract

Constitutionalism-bashing has been en vogue for some time in international legal scholarship. International legal scholars have deployed an incredible amount of energy to discredit any pattern of argument, structure of thought, or conceptual framework that comes with constitutionalist overtones. In many respects, such anti-constitutionalist fury among international lawyers is rather bewildering given the inflated importance and weight granted to international legal constitutionalism on these occasions. Such ferocity is also questionable in the light of the reasonable awareness by most constitutionalist thinkers of the limits of their projects. What is more, variants of constitutionalism are so numerous that it is not sure that the idea really means the same for all those who are determined to repudiate it. It is against this backdrop that this chapter ventures into the origins and causes of international lawyers’ unbridled furry against what seems a rather marginal movement in international legal thought. This chapter particularly makes the argument that it is the attachment to some legal forms that has fuelled the passionate crusade against constitutionalism and that contemporary debates on international constitutionalism are nothing more than the continuation of a more fundamental discussion on the concept of international law.

Keywords: International Law, International Legal Theory, International Relations Theory, Constitutionalism, Global Constitutionalism, International Constitutionalism, International Relations Theory, Legal Forms, Formalism, Sources of International Law

JEL Classification: K33

Suggested Citation

d'Aspremont, Jean, International Legal Constitutionalism, Legal Forms, and the Need for Villains (September 9, 2016). in A. Lang and A. Weiner (eds) Handbook on Global Constitutionalism (Forthcoming, Edward Elgar, 2017), Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2016-36, Amsterdam Center for International Law No. 2016-15, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2836930

Jean D'Aspremont (Contact Author)

University of Manchester - School of Law ( email )

Oxford Road
Manchester M13 9PL, M139PL
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/research/Jean.daspremont/

Sciences Po Law School ( email )

13 rue de l'université
Paris, 75007
France

HOME PAGE: http://www.sciencespo.fr/ecole-de-droit/en/profile/daspremont-jean

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