The Language of Comparative Constitutional Law: Questioning Hegemonies

Author: Erika Arban; Maartje De Visser; Jeong-In Yun
Publisher: Hart Publishing
ISBN: 9781509983933
Published In: October 2025
Format: Hardback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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Contents

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This volume is the first in-depth collection to explore the impact of language on the field of comparative constitutional law. The salience of language in the field is widely recognised but remains underexplored.

The book addresses the epistemological and conceptual implications of English as the lingua franca. It considers the related global influence of Anglophone jurisdictions in orienting the discourse through the identification of concepts, designs and ideas that warrant engagement and exploration outside of those origin jurisdictions. In doing so, the book underscores that language is not a neutral device but can produce hegemonic pressures and expectations. It further makes the role of language in conducting comparative constitutional law explicit, so that its users can be more deliberate in their selection of foreign materials and are made conscious of the limitations of their findings due to language barriers.

The book calls for a reckoning with the rich constitutional vocabulary that non-Anglophone jurisdictions have to offer to ensure a more holistic approach to the creation of knowledge. It emphasises the need for the contextualised study of constitutional phenomena to appreciate how these are shaped by linguistic choices. In addition to raising awareness about language's significance as an epistemological, conceptual and methodological device, the volume also puts forward constructive tools and techniques to navigate linguistic challenges for the design and execution of comparative constitutional inquiries, making it an indispensable resource for scholars, students, lawmakers and judges.

Introduction, Erika Arban (Melbourne Law School, Australia), Maartje De Visser (Singapore Management University, Singapore), Jeong-In Yun (Korea University, South Korea)

Part I: Language Barriers and Epistemic Imbalances

2. Academic Galapagos: Linguistic Impacts on Comparative Constitutional Studies and Japanese Constitutional Scholars, Masahiko Kinoshita (Kobe University, Japan)

3. Teaching Comparative Constitutional Law in English in a Non-English-Speaking Country: The Case of Italy, Francesco Biagi (University of Bologna, Italy)

4. Framing French: How Language Shapes Legal Academia and Fuels a Distinctive Approach to Constitutional Review, Eleonora Bottini (University of Caen-Normanday, France)

5. The Blind Spots of Comparative Constitutional Law: German Experiences with English as Lingua Franca, Michael Goldhammer (EBS Universität, Germany)

6. (Re)Inventing Constitutional Concepts, Joel I Colon-Rios (University of Essex, UK)

7. What is in a Name? The Case of the Impossible Translation of the Concept of “Forma Di Stato”, Elisa Bertolini (Bocconi University, Italy) and Graziella Romeo (Bocconi University, Italy)

8. American Jargon and American Constitutional Concepts in the Early Years of EU Integration, Leonardo Pierdominici (University of Bologna, Italy)

Part II: Language Biases and Contextual Dilemmas

9. Language Bias in Comparative Constitutional Law Scholarship: Symptoms, Explanations, Implications and Remedies, Odile Ammann (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)

10. Comparative Law, Comparative Constitutional Law, and Linguistic Sensitivity, Jaakko Husa (University of Helsinki, Finland)

11. Ubuntu Under the South African Constitution, Nomfundo Ramalekana (University of Cape Town, South Africa)

12. Linguistic Colonial Continuity, Modernity and National Integration in India, Vikram A Narayan (Humboldt University, Germany)

13. The Essence of Semantic Provocations in Central Asian Constitutional Modernisation, Aziz Ismatov (Nagoya University, Japan)

14. (Mis)understanding Constitutional Law: Comparing Legal Orders as a Challenge of Cross-Linguistic Epistemology, Konrad Lachmeyer (Sigmund Freud University, Austria)

15. Untangling Buzzwords: Making Sense of the Vocabulary in the Anglo-Saxon Literature of Constitutional Law, Ilker Gökhan Sen (University of Oslo, Norway)

Part III: Legal Translation, Multilingualism and the Discursive Way

16. In Defence of Multilingualism: The Contribution of Legal Linguistics and Comparative Science to the Affirmation of Multilingualism, Claudia Marchese (University of Sassari, Italy)

17. Towards English as the Sole Authentic Version of EU Law, Jaap Baaij (Utrecht University, the Netherlands)

18. Language and the Building of an Integrated Constitutional Space: A Focus on the EU, Francesco Palermo (University of Verona, Italy)

19. Language as a Method: An Autoethnography of Studying Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia, Melissa Crouch (University of New South Wales, Australia)

20. The 'Language of the Law' and the 'Sentiment of the Language': A Cultural Challenge for Enriching Global English with National Identities, Giovanna Tieghi (University of Padua, Italy)

21. Overcoming the Language Barrier Through Translation: Methodological Aspects of Using Translation in Comparative Law, Lucja Biel (University of Warsaw, Poland), Hanem EL-Farahaty (University of Leeds, United Kingdom), and Francesca Seracini (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano, Italy)

22. Discursive Comparative Constitutional Law, Ngoc Son Bui (Oxford University, UK)

Conclusion, Erika Arban (Melbourne Law School, Australia), Maartje De Visser (Singapore Management University), Jeong-In Yun (Korea University, South Korea)