GLOBAL CONSTITUTIONALISM - SOME CRITICAL REMARKS

Global constitutionalism is a popular topic among internationally oriented public law scholars. Drawing on modern comparative law scholarship, this article examines and discusses global constitutionalism from a critical point of view. Many contemporary authors seem to presume that the idea of constitutionalism is, or that it must be, universal. According to some views, constitutionalism has now gone global. In agreement with this thinking, the commitment to the rule of law, democracy and human rights has arguably become a defining feature in a global scale. In practice, this means that constitutionalism is regarded as relevant not only in the context of states but also when we assess and interpret the development of law beyond the state. This article interrogates underlying themes and calls the universality of global constitutionalism into question.