Constitutional Crisis in the European Constitutional Area: Theory, Law and Politics in Hungary and Romania

The concept of a European Constitutional Area has been used in legal scholarship to describe a common space of constitutionalism where national and international constitutional guarantees interact to maintain the common constitutional values of Europe. This concept has not yet been tested in a case where the constitutional order of a Member State of the European Union seems to develop systemic deficiencies. The present volume aims to assess recent constitutional developments in Hungary and Romania, as well as the interplay of national, international and European constitutionalism which react to the loopholes in national constitutions. Accordingly, a core part of the volume is an in-depth analysis of the situation in Hungary and Romania. Based on that, the volume offers an account of the different reaction mechanisms of the European Union and of the Council of Europe. Beyond a detailed stock-taking of these mechanisms, their legal and political frameworks are explored, as well as different ways to extend their reach. In this way, the volume contributes to a little-studied aspect of European constitutionalism.

Table of Contents:
I. Setting the Scene The New Basic Law of Hungary 1. The Rise and Decline of Constitutional Culture in Hungary László Sólyom 2. The Constitution as an Instrument of Everyday Party Politics: The Basic Law of Hungary Pál Sonnevend, András Jakab and Lóránt Csink 3. Understanding Hungary's Constitutional Revolution Kim Lane Scheppele 4. Context, Rules and Praxis of the New Hungarian Media Laws: How Does the Media Law Affect the Structure and Functioning of Publicity? Gábor Polyák Issues of Constitutionality in Romania 5. Separation of Powers and the Rule of Law in Romania: The Crisis in Concepts and Contexts Bogdan Iancu 6. Romania in the European Union: Political Developments and the Rule of Law after Accession Cosmina Tanasoiu II. Instruments for Maintaining Constitutionalism in Europe Systemic Deficiencies in the Rule of Law and the European Union 7. Enforcing the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in Member States: How Far are Rome, Budapest and Bucharest from Brussels? Frank Hoffmeister 8. A European Response to Domestic Constitutional Crisis: Advancing the Reverse-Solange Doctrine Armin von Bogdandy, Carlino Antpöhler, Johanna Dickschen,Simon Hentrei, Matthias Kottmann and Maja Smrkolj The Role of the European Convention on Human Rights 9. The European Convention on Human Rights: Inherent Constitutional Tendencies and the Role of the European Court of Human Rights Christoph Grabenwarter 10. Central and Eastern European Member States of the EU and the European Convention on Human Rights Mahulena Hofmann 11. The Role of the Venice Commission in Maintaining the Rule of Law in Hungary and in Romania Joakim Nergelius Theories of Limits of the Constitution-Making Power 12. What Legitimises a National Constitution? On the Importance of International Embedding Matthias Hartwig 13. Convention Rights as Minimum Constitutional Guarantees? The Conflict between Domestic Constitutional Law and the European Convention on Human Rights Tilmann Altwicker 14. The Unconstitutional Constitution: A Timely Concept Catherine Dupré

About the Author :
Armin von Bogdandy is Director at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg. Pál Sonnevend is Vice Dean for international relations of the Faculty of Law of ELTE, Budapest.

Review :
This volume describes the complex reality of the European Constitutional Institutions under a new light. The uniqueness of the reviewed collective publication is in bringing together scholars commenting on not-so-well known aspects of Hungarian and Romanian crises, uncovering the events in domestic political arena