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International(ized) Constitutions and Peacebuilding

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 January 2014

EMILY HAY
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Abstract

This article concerns the concept and practice of international(ized) constitutions, which have become characteristic of situations where there is deep international involvement in peacebuilding efforts. The process and nature of internationalized constitutions challenge traditional ideas about sovereignty, self-determination, and constitutions. While they reinforce the importance of constitutional documents themselves as an indicator of sovereignty, internationalized constitutions simultaneously legitimize a high degree of external influence in the creation and even implementation of that document. This article argues that internationalized constitutions are not inherently legitimate or illegitimate, but have the potential to be either in any given situation. Internationalized constitutions in Iraq and Kosovo are used as case studies to investigate how the dilemmas of internationalized constitutions have played out in two recent scenarios.

Keywords

peacebuildingconstitution draftingKosovoIraqsovereignty
Type
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND PRACTICE
Information
Leiden Journal of International Law , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 141 - 168
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation of the Leiden Journal of International Law 2014 

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