Global Constitutionalism from European and East Asian Perspectives

Examines and compares East Asian and European perspectives of Global Constitutionalism.

Takao Suami (Edited by), Anne Peters (Edited by), Dimitri Vanoverbeke (Edited by), Mattias Kumm (Edited by)

9781108810371, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 26 March 2020

623 pages
23 x 15.3 x 3.2 cm, 0.85 kg

“This book is a timely contribution to the important study of Global Constitutionalism. Its comparisons between two equally aged but very different traditions - European and East Asian - is as insightful it is challenging, since East Asia alone is such an amorphous entity, with China, Japan and Korea standing out as qualitatively different polities. By bringing together scholars from diverse countries, the book provides a rare platform for meaningful dialogues between radically different institutional and cultural traditions.' Zhang Qianfan, Peking University, Beijing

Global Constitutionalism argues that parts of international law can be understood as being grounded in the rule of law and human rights, and insists that international law can and should be interpreted and progressively developed in the direction of greater respect for and realization of those principles. Global Constitutionalism has been discussed primarily by European scholars. Yet without the engagement of scholars from other parts of the world, the universalist claims underlying Global Constitutionalism ring hollow. This is particularly true with regard to East Asia, where nearly half the world's population and a growing share of global economic and military capacities are located. Are East Asian perspectives on Global Constitutionalism similar to European perspectives? Against the background of current power shifts in international law, this book constitutes the first cross-cultural work on various facets of Global Constitutionalism and elaborates a more nuanced concept that fits our times.

Part I. Groundwork: Interplay between European Ideas and East Asian Perspectives: 1. Perpetuum mobile: before and after global constitutionalism Toshiki Mogami
2. China's socialist rule of law and global constitutionalism Bin Li
3. Global Constitutionalism and East Asian perspectives in the context of political economy Christine Schwöbel-Patel
4. Global Constitutionalism and European legal experiences: can European constitutionalism be applied to the rest of the world? Takao Suami
5. On the history and theory of global constitutionalism Mattias Kumm
Part II. Pursuit of Common Values: Human Rights and the Rule of Law from East Asian Perspectives: 6. Are we talking the same language? The socio-historical context of global constitutionalism in East Asia as seen from Japan's experiences Dimitri Vanoverbeke
7. Chinese perspectives on the rule of law: prospects and challenges for global constitutionalism Matthieu Burnay
8. Cosmopolitanising rights practice: the case of South Korea Yoon Jin Shin
Part III. Horizontal Interactions: Trade, Environment and Development: 9. Global Constitutionalism: the social dimension Anne Peters
10. Development issues in the discourse of Global Constitutionalism Hyuck-Soo Yoo
11. A new idea for constructing the global legal mechanism of the right to development Xigen Wang
12. Fair is foul, and foul is fair: the mixed character of constitutionalism in the global economic governance Kazuyori Ito
13. Conceptualising global environmental constitutionalism in a regional context: perspectives from Asia and Europe Louis J. Kotzé
Part IV. Implementation and Enforcement: 14. The emerging principle of functional complementarity for coordination among national and international jurisdictions: intellectual hegemony and heterogeneous world Kaoru Obata
15. Human rights NGOs and Global Constitutionalism from a Chinese academic perspective Guimei Bai
16. Global constitutionalism and private governance: the discrete contribution of voluntary sustainability standards Axel Marx and Jan Wouters
17. International courts and tribunals and the rule of law in Asia Geir Ulfstein
Conclusion: East Asia and Global Constitutionalism
18. Global Constitutionalism for East Asia: its potential to promote constitutional principles Takao Suami.

Subject Areas: Constitutional & administrative law [LND], Public international law [LBB], International law [LB], Comparative law [LAM], Asian history [HBJF]