The Migration of Constitutional Ideas

The migration of constitutional ideas across jurisdictions is rapidly emerging as one of the central features of contemporary constitutional practice. The increasing use of comparative jurisprudence in interpreting constitutions is one example of this. In this book, leading figures in the study of comparative constitutionalism and comparative constitutional politics from North America, Europe and Australia discuss the dynamic processes whereby constitutional systems influence each other.

They explore basic methodological questions which have thus far received little attention, and examine the complex relationship between national and supranational constitutionalism - an issue of considerable contemporary interest in Europe. The migration of constitutional ideas is discussed from a variety of methodological perspectives - comparative law, comparative politics, and cultural studies of law - and contributors draw on case-studies from a wide variety of jurisdictions: Australia, Hungary, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.

• Whereas existing works on 9/11 tend to focus on the responses of single jurisdictions, and at best suggest how the experiences of other jurisdictions ought to be drawn upon, this book attempts to link the myriad legal responses to 9/11 across a large number of jurisdictions to the study of the movement of constitutional ideas that has taken place
• Draws on case studies from a wide variety of jurisdictions - Australia, Hungary, India, South Africa, the US, the UK and Canada - to illustrate how constitutional systems influence each other
• Devotes several chapters to exploring basic methodological questions which have thus far received insufficient attention, and addresses these from a variety of methodological perspectives