The Foundations and Traditions of Constitutional Amendment

Comparative constitutional amendment is the study of how constitutions change through formal and informal means, including alteration, revision, evolution, interpretation, replacement, and revolution. The field invites scholars to draw insights about constitutional change across borders and cultures, to uncover the motivations behind constitutional change, to theorize best practices, and to identify the theoretical underpinnings of constitutional change. This volume is designed to guide the emergence of comparative constitutional amendment as a distinct field of study in public law. Much of the recent scholarship in the field has been written by the scholars assembled in this volume. This book, like the field it hopes to shape, is not comparative alone; it is also doctrinal, historical, and theoretical, and therefore offers a multiplicity of perspectives on the subject. It is the first to comprehensively cover the new dimensions of the study of constitutional amendment, and will become a reference point for all scholars working on the subject. It covers topics such as: the notion of the people; the trend of empirical quantitative approaches to constitutional change; unamendability; constitutional referenda; reconceptualizing the conventional divide between constituent and constituted powers; and more. The included chapters capture the fierce ongoing debates on the relevant topics, while revealing current trends and contested issues. A variety of arguments discussed in-depth by prominent experts in the field is also offered. (Series: Hart Studies in Comparative Public Law) [Subject: Constitutional & Administrative Law, Comparative Law, Public Law]

Richard Albert has been appointed Professor of Law at Boston College Law School and visiting professor at the University of Toronto, Externado University of Colombia, the Interdisciplinary Center (Herzliya) and Yale University.Xenophon Contiades is Professor of Public Law, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (Athens, Greece) and Managing Director of the Centre for European Constitutional Law. Alkmene Fotiadou is Research Associate at the Centre for European Constitutional Law.