'Constitutional Constructivism' for a Common Law of Humanity? Multilevel Constitutionalism as a 'Gentle Civiliser of Nations'

29 Pages Posted: 17 Nov 2017

See all articles by Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann

Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann

European University Institute - Department of Law (LAW)

Date Written: October 17, 2017

Abstract

The ‘constitutional failures’ ushering in World Wars I and II and the emergence of post-war ‘multilevel constitutionalism’ in Europe suggest that also UN/WTO law can effectively protect international public goods only if UN/WTO law are interpreted and protected for the benefit of citizens in conformity with the human rights and other ‘principles of justice’ recognized by all UN member states. This paper discusses recent publications by Philip Allott on ‘international constitutionalism’ and argues that the necessary transformation of the prevailing conceptions of ‘international law among sovereign states’ into a ‘multilevel constitutional law of humanity’ requires extending ‘multilevel constitutionalism’ to UN/WTO governance of public goods with due respect for ‘constitutional pluralism’ protecting individual and democratic diversity, subsidiarity and ‘institutional experimentation’.

Keywords: Constitutionalism, Cosmopolitan Rights, Democracy, Multilevel Governance, Public Goods, Public Reason, WTO Law

Suggested Citation

Petersmann, Ernst-Ulrich, 'Constitutional Constructivism' for a Common Law of Humanity? Multilevel Constitutionalism as a 'Gentle Civiliser of Nations' (October 17, 2017). Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law & International Law (MPIL) Research Paper No. 2017-24, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3054442 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3054442

Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann (Contact Author)

European University Institute - Department of Law (LAW) ( email )

Via Bolognese 156 (Villa Salviati)
50-139 Firenze
Italy

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