After the fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the
newly democratized countries of this region joined two main
pan-European political and legal structures: the Council of Europe and
the European Union. This book shows how the Eastward enlargement of
these two structures fostered the 'constitutionalization' both of the
Council of Europe and of the EU.
Prompted by the enlargement of the Council of Europe and the admission
of a number of countries which brought unique and often more
substantial problems onto the Court's agenda, the main judicial body
of the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, became a
quasi 'constitutional court' of Europe. This book demonstrates that
this was primarily as a result of the widening of its agenda and the
resulting need to make activist decisions about the compatibility of
national laws with the European Convention.
In terms of the EU, the book shows that the enlargement (first
prospective, and then, actual) has been an important agenda-setter for
the constitutionalization of the EU; in particular, for openly placing
the issue of fundamental rights on the EU agenda as a legitimate and
indispensable matter of concern for the EU. But the 'constitutional
synergies' were a two-way street: the accession to both pan-European
structures has also affected the development of democratic
constitutionalism in CEE states. It has raised difficult issues
regarding the relationships between national sovereignty, democracy,
and human rights that CEE policy makers have grappled with; these
issues and responses by CEE member states have had implications for
the 'old' EU member states as well. These dynamics are explored
through various case studies, providing a new perspective on the
development of legal norms and institutions within European
supranational bodies.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780191631085
Publisert
2025
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Oxford University Press Academic UK
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter