Date:08Nov 2016
Global constitutionalism is a hot topic among internationally oriented public law scholars. Many contemporary authors seem to presume that the idea of constitutionalism is, or that it must be, universal. According to some views constitutionalism has now gone global. In agreement with this thinking the commitment to the rule of law, democracy and human rights has arguably become a defining feature in a global scale. In practice, this means that constitutionalism is regarded as relevant not only in the context of States but also when we assess and interpret development of law beyond the State. Professor Husa interrogates certain underlying themes and calls the universality of global constitutionalism into question. Drawing on modern comparative law scholarship his presentation examines and discusses global constitutionalism from a critical point of view.
Jaakko Husa is Professor of Comparative Law and Constitutional Law at the University of Lapland (Finland). He has held professorial Chairs in various fields of law including public law, legal linguistics, legal culture, and jurisprudence. He is an Invited Fellow with Maastricht European Private Law Institute and an Adjunct Professor of Comparative Law at the University of Helsinki. He is a Titular Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law. Jaakko’s specialist areas include theory of comparative law, legal cultures, and constitutional law. He has published widely on comparative law and Nordic law in the leading academic journals. His most recent book is A New Introduction to Comparative Law (Hart, Oxford, 2015). Jaakko also serves as the Finnish Editor for the Nordic Journal of Law and Justice (Retfærd).
