Constitutions Compared An Introduction to Comparative Constitutional Law (Third Edition)

by Heringa, Aalt Willem; Kiiver, Philipp

• ISBN13: 9781780680781
• ISBN10: 1780680783
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-16
• Publisher: Intersentia

Summary

A book series devoted to the common foundations of the European legal systems. The lus Commune Europaeum series includes comparative legal studies as well as studies on the effect of treaties within national legal systems. All area of the law are covered. The books are published in various European languages under the auspices of METRO, the Institute for Transnational Legal Research at Maastricht University.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition	p. v
Introduction to Comparative Constitutional Law	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
The Meaning of a Constitution	p. 2
The Flexibility of Constitutions	p. 5
Terminology	p. 9
State	p. 9
Country	p. 10
Nation	p. 10
Government	p. 10
Republic	p. 11
Further Reading	p. 13
Constitutions Compared: Origins and Main Features	p. 15
Overview	p. 15
The Notion of Sovereignty	p. 15
Popular versus Royal Sovereignty	p. 16
Popular versus National Sovereignty	p. 17
Popular versus State Sovereignty	p. 17
Parliamentary Sovereignty	p. 18
The Absence of Sovereignty	p. 19
Sovereignty and European Integration	p. 19
Parliamentary and Presidential Systems	p. 20
Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances	p. 22
The Role of Judges	p. 24
State Structure: Unitarism and Federalism	p. 25
Summary	p. 26
Further Reading	p. 26
The United States	p. 27
Civil War and Reconstruction	p. 27
The US Constitution	p. 28
Germany	p. 30
National Unification	p. 30
Division and Reunification	p. 32
The Basic Law	p. 33
The United Kingdom	p. 35
Monarchy and Parliament	p. 35
The UK Constitution	p. 37
The UK and Europe	p. 39
France	p. 40
A Sequence of Constitutions	p. 40
The Constitution of the Fifth Republic	p. 41
The Netherlands	p. 43
Dutch Independence and the French Period	p. 44
The Kingdom of the United Netherlands	p. 45
The Dutch Constitution	p. 45
The Charter for the Kingdom	p. 47
Federalism. Unitarism and Decentralization	p. 49
Overview	p. 49
Degrees of Federalism and Devolution	p. 51
Types of Federalism and Devolution	p. 52
Federalism and the European Union	p. 53
Summary	p. 54
Further Reading	p. 55
The United States	p. 55
US Federalism: The Senate	p. 56
Federalism and the House of Representatives	p. 56
Vertical Separation of Powers	p. 57
Federalism at Presidential Elections	p. 59
Federalism and the Executive and Judicial System	p. 59
Germany	p. 60
German Federalism: The Bundesrat	p. 61
Federalism and the Bundestag	p. 62
The Competences of the Federal Lawmaker	p. 62
Federalism and the Election of the Federal President	p. 63
Federalism and the Executive and Judicial System	p. 63
The United Kingdom	p. 64
France	p. 66
The Netherlands	p. 68
Decentralization in the Netherlands	p. 68
The Overarching Kingdom	p. 69
Parliaments and Lawmaking	p. 71
Overview	p. 71
Principles of Elections	p. 74
Election Systems	p. 76
Bicameralism	p. 78
The Legislative Process	p. 79
Referendums	p. 81
The Government and the Head of State	p. 83
Summary	p. 84
Further Reading	p. 84
The United States	p. 85
The House of Representatives	p. 85
The Senate	p. 86
Federal Lawmaking	p. 87
The President	p. 88
Germany	p. 89
The Bundestag	p. 89
Election System	p. 89
Seat Distribution	p. 90
The Threshold	p. 91
Unconstitutionality	p. 92
The Bundesrat	p. 93
Federal Lawmaking	p. 94
The Legislative Process	p. 95
The Bundesrat	p. 96
The President	p. 98
The United Kingdom	p. 98
The Commons	p. 99
The Lords	p. 100
The Legislative Process	p. 101
Royal Assent	p. 102
The Lords	p. 103
France	p. 104
The National Assembly	p. 104
The Senate	p. 105
The Legislative Process	p. 107
The Senate	p. 108
Organic Statutes	p. 109
The President	p. 109
The Constitutional Council	p. 110
The Netherlands	p. 112
The Second Chamber	p. 112
The First Chamber	p. 114
The Legislative Process	p. 115
Statutes for the Netherlands in Europe	p. 115
The King	p. 116
Statutes for the Overall Kingdom	p. 116
Governments, their Parliaments and their Heads of State	p. 119
Overview	p. 119
Heads of State and Government	p. 119
The Rank of the Prime-Minister	p. 122
Parliamentary Investiture	p. 123
Ministerial Accountability	p. 124
National Parliaments and the European Union	p. 128
The Immunity of the Head of State	p. 130
Dissolution of Parliament	p. 131
Summary	p. 133
Further Reading	p. 133
The United States	p. 134
The President and Vice-President	p. 134
The President and Congress	p. 136
Germany	p. 138
The Federal President	p. 138
The Chancellor and his Government	p. 139
Ministerial Accountability	p. 141
Confidence Question	p. 142
The United Kingdom	p. 143
The King	p. 143
The Prime-Minister and his Cabinet	p. 144
Ministerial Accountability	p. 146
France	p. 147
The President	p. 148
The Prime-Minister and his Government	p. 149
Ministerial Accountability	p. 150
The Netherlands	p. 151
The King	p. 151
The Prime-Minister and his Cabinet	p. 153
Ministerial Accountability	p. 153
Motions of No-Confidence	p. 155
The Government of the Kingdom	p. 156
Judicial Review and Human Rights	p. 159
Overview	p. 159
Constitutional Review of Legislation	p. 160
The Procedural Setting of Constitutional Review	p. 161
Review of Treaty Law Compliance	p. 163
European Union Law	p. 165
Summary	p. 167
Further Reading	p. 168
The United States	p. 168
The Court System	p. 168
Constitutional Review	p. 169
International Treaties	p. 171
Germany	p. 172
The Court System	p. 172
Constitutional Review	p. 172
International Treaties and the ECHR	p. 174
European Union Law	p. 175
The United Kingdom	p. 176
The Court System	p. 176
Constitutional Review	p. 177
International Treaties and the ECHR	p. 177
European Union Law	p. 179
France	p. 180
The Court System	p. 180
Constitutional Review	p. 180
International Treaties and the ECHR	p. 181
European Union Law	p. 181
The Netherlands	p. 182
The Court System	p. 182
Constitutional Review	p. 183
International Treaties and the ECHR	p. 183
European Union Law	p. 184
European Human Rights	p. 185
The ECHR, the European Union and the National Constitutions	p. 187
Useful Links	p. 189
Exercises and Model Exam Questions	p. 191
Glossary	p. 197
Overview of Constitutions Compared	p. 202
The Constitution of the United States	p. 205
The French Constitution	p. 219
The French Declaration of the Rights of Man	p. 241
The German Basic Law	p. 243
The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands	p. 287
The Dutch Constitution	p. 299
Selected Statutory Provisions from the United Kingdom	p. 315
The ECHR	p. 331
The Treaty on European Union	p. 345
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