Despite, or perhaps because of, the rejection of the EU Constitutional Treaty eventually leading to the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, the debates concerning the European Union's constitutional framework continue. This book builds on the discourse in European Union constitutionalism in order to offer a novel analysis of the EU's constitutional developments. The book considers the constitutional trends of the process of EU integration before applying a transdisciplinary concept of complexity developed in the work of Edgar Morin to the EU. In doing this Giuseppe Martinico sets out a unique account of EU constitutionalism which argues that the EU legal order is a complex entity which shares some features with complex natural systems. The book then goes on to explore the methodological implications of such constitutional complexity for the study of EU law.
Table of Contents:
1. Only a Drop in the Ocean? An Attempt to Classify the Debate About the Notion and the Nature of the European Constitution 2. Dealing with Constitutional Theories Of European Integration 3. Constructivism and Evolutionism In The Last Twenty Years of (Mega) Constitutional Politics in the EU 4. Complexity in Action: From The Structure to the Actors 5. On The Future of Constitutional Conflicts
About the Author :
Giuseppe Martinico is a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute, Italy.
Review :
"I appreciate the author’s theoretical framework, which is fortified by numerous examples deriving from national and European case-law. It offers a helpful tool to approach new developments of EU constitutional law, such as the case of Åkerberg Fransson. In fact, a large part of Martinico’s argument is reflected in this case."
-Katarzyna Granat, European University Institute, European Law Journal
"In this book, Dr Martinico presents one of the possible interpretations of the EU constitutional process, going through his very own concept of “constitutional complexity”. He describes the European Union as, “a complex legal order that is an order product of the interaction among constitutional levels/poles which is characterized by some precise features: non-reducibility, non-predictability, non-determinism and non-reversibility” (p.164).This book surprises by the depth of the author’s analysis and the clarity of the arguments, whether or not one agree with his views. In fewer than 200 pages, Martinico’s describes the complex nature of the EU legal order, the main EU constitutional theories and proposes his own thesis"
-Luis I. Gordillo University of Deusto, Bilbao, European Law Review
"Martinico’s contribution is extremely relevant for at least two reasons. The first is that it invites to shed light (in a literal sense) over the hidden dynamics of constitutional conflicts. Enhancing the understanding of what is at stake in constitutional conflicts and unpacking the actors’ behavior within the conflict itself represent an important first step toward the demystification of irenic views of European constitutionalism. This work represents also an invitation to further develop the analysis of these dynamics beyond judicial interactions. Second, the field of constitutional conflicts is far from being exhausted. To the contrary, as the author rightly notes in the last chapters, constitutional conflicts will predictably increase in the future because of four factors: ‘the accession to the European Convention of Human Rights, the enlargement to the East, and the financial crisis and the consequences (one might say, the aftermath) of the roar of the mega-constitutional politics of the season of the Conventions’ (pp. 164-165)’. "
-Giacomo Delledonne Julio Pinheiro Faro Homem de Siqueira ,STALS INTERNATIONAL BOOK SYMPOSIUM
"I appreciate the author’s theoretical framework, which is fortified by numerous examples deriving from national and European case-law. It offers a helpful tool to approach new developments of EU constitutional law, such as the case of Åkerberg Fransson. In fact, a large part of Martinico’s argument is reflected in this case."
-Katarzyna Granat, European University Institute, European Law Journal
"In this book, Dr Martinico presents one of the possible interpretations of the EU constitutional process, going through his very own concept of “constitutional complexity”. He describes the European Union as, “a complex legal order that is an order product of the interaction among constitutional levels/poles which is characterized by some precise features: non-reducibility, non-predictability, non-determinism and non-reversibility” (p.164).This book surprises by the depth of the author’s analysis and the clarity of the arguments, whether or not one agree with his views. In fewer than 200 pages, Martinico’s describes the complex nature of the EU legal order, the main EU constitutional theories and proposes his own thesis"
-Luis I. Gordillo University of Deusto, Bilbao, European Law Review
"Martinico’s contribution is extremely relevant for at least two reasons. The first is that it invites to shed light (in a literal sense) over the hidden dynamics of constitutional conflicts. Enhancing the understanding of what is at stake in constitutional conflicts and unpacking the actors’ behavior within the conflict itself represent an important first step toward the demystification of irenic views of European constitutionalism. This work represents also an invitation to further develop the analysis of these dynamics beyond judicial interactions. Second, the field of constitutional conflicts is far from being exhausted. To the contrary, as the author rightly notes in the last chapters, constitutional conflicts will predictably increase in the future because of four factors: ‘the accession to the European Convention of Human Rights, the enlargement to the East, and the financial crisis and the consequences (one might say, the aftermath) of the roar of the mega-constitutional politics of the season of the Conventions’ (pp. 164-165)’. "
-Giacomo Delledonne Julio Pinheiro Faro Homem de Siqueira ,STALS INTERNATIONAL BOOK SYMPOSIUM
