Accommodating Diversity in Multilevel Constitutional Orders: Legal Mechanisms of Divergence and Convergence(Comparative Constitutional Change)

This book offers insights into the legal mechanisms that are adopted in multilevel constitutional orders to accommodate the tension between contrasting interests of diversity and unity and the converging or diverging effects they may have on the functioning of a multilevel constitutional order. It does so by targeting mainly the European experience but also drawing insights from other jurisdictions. The volume draws on a well-rounded theoretical framework that allows a comprehensive discussion of the dialectics in multi-level systems.) It focuses on two of the most relevant areas of constitutional law, namely the setup of supranational institutions and the protection of fundamental human rights. Finally, the work presents a fresh legal take on the unity-diversity dichotomy. This collection is ideal for academics working in the fields of constitutional law, international law, federal theory, institutional design, management and accommodation of diversity, and protection of fundamental rights. Political scientists will also find the discussions very relevant as a foundation for further research in their field. Policymakers involved in constitutional engineering will be interested, as mechanisms of accommodation, convergence, and divergence are increasingly looked at as devices for managing multilevel polities.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Foreword Bruno De Witte Section I: Theoretical Approaches Chapter 1 Introduction: The Dialectics in Multilevel Systems - Mechanisms of Divergence and Convergence Marjan Kos, Jaka Kukavica, and Maja Sahadžić Chapter 2 The Idea of ‘Interlegal Balancing’ in Multilevel Settings Gabriel Encinas Chapter 3 Non-Hierarchical Coordination Of Multi-Level Asymmetries for (Dynamic) Stability Finding the Balance Between Convergence and Divergence Maja Sahadžić Chapter 4 Constitutional Diversity and Differentiation in the EU: What Role for National Constitutional Demands under EU law? Marjan Kos Section II: Mechanisms in Constitutional and Human Rights Law Chapter 5 Between unity and diversity: EU data protection legislation as a catalyst for a constitutional trilogue Pieter Aertgeerts Chapter 6 Forgetting Identity Claims The New Constitutional Paradigm in Multilevel Fundamental Rights Standards Jakob Gašperin Wischhoff Chapter 7 Convergence and Divergence in EU External Action: The Very Slowly Emergent Doctrine of Shared Competence Thomas Verellen Chapter 8 A Convergence Movement Between the European Union's Economic Constitution and National Economic Constitutions - Lessons from the Portuguese Case Pedro Coutinho Chapter 9 Towards a General Typology of Consensus Analysis: From Entrenching Divergence to Constituting Convergence Jaka Kukavica Section III: Institutional Mechanisms Chapter 10 Convergence, Divergence and Strategic Interactions Of International Courts: Lessons from the Protection of Business Premises for Legal Persons in Europe Audrey M. Plan Chapter 11 Converging on Structures – The Influence of Court-Structure on Convergence and Divergence among Judges Alexander Lazović Chapter 12 Multilevel Governance in the EU Through Deliberative Democracy: Zooming into the Mechanism of the European Citizens’ Initiative Agata Magdalena Poznańska Chapter 13 EU law’s Contribution in Streamlining Member State Enforcement Structures: A Promising Mechanism for Convergence? Pieter Van Cleynenbreugel Chapter 14 Conclusion: Oscillating Between Unity and Diversity Jakob Gašperin Wischhoff and Julian Scholtes

About the Author :
Maja Sahadžić, Assistant Professor at Utrecht University, the Netherlands, and Visiting Professor at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. Marjan Kos, PhD Candidate and Teaching Assistant, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law, Slovenia. Jaka Kukavica, Ph.D. Researcher, European University Institute, Italy, and Junior Lecturer, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Jakob Gašperin Wischhoff, PhD Candidate and DynamInt Research Fellow at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany. Julian Scholtes, Lecturer in Public Law, University of Glasgow School of Law, Scotland, United Kingdom.