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Constitutional pluralism: An oxymoron?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2014

MARTIN LOUGHLIN
MARTIN LOUGHLIN*
Affiliation:
London School of Economics, Department of Law, Houghton Street, London WC2 2AE
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Abstract

This article examines the origins of the concept of constitutional pluralism that has emerged in the last decade and it critically assesses the claims of its advocates. It argues that the claims made on behalf of the concept cannot be sustained and seeks to show that constitutional pluralism is an oxymoronic concept.

Keywords

constitutionalismEuropean Unionpluralismsovereignty
Type
Research Article
Information
Global Constitutionalism , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 9 - 30
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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References

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15 Note here MacCormick’s acceptance of the point that a constitution is not essentially the formal text (above pt 4).

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36 See Weiler, JHH, ‘Prologue: Global and Pluralist Constitutionalism – Some Doubts’ in de Búrca, G and Weiler, JHH (eds), The Worlds of European Constitutionalism (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2011) 8Google Scholar: ‘Constitutional Pluralism is today the only party membership card which will guarantee a seat at the high table of the public law professoriate.’ For a comprehensive overview of the state of the play with respect to this concept see Avbelj and Komárek (n 35).

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42 M Loughlin, ‘In Defence of Staatslehre’ (2009) 48 Der Staat 2–27.

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48 Maduro (n 44) 75

49 Ibid 75

50 Ibid 76

51 Ibid 76–7.

52 Case C-147/03 (7 July 2005).

53 Maduro (n 44) 77.

54 Case C-438/05 (11 December 2007).

55 Maduro (n 44) 77.

56 Ibid.

57 Ibid 77–8.

58 Ibid 78.

59 Ibid.

60 Ibid 78–9.

61 Ibid 79.

62 Ibid 82.

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64 Maduro (n 44) 82.

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