Maartje De Visser – författare

The book presents an evolutionary view of Nepal’s constitutional system, grounded in the country’s historico-political context. In particular, the analysis focuses on three aspects. First, the book investigates Nepal’s processes of state formation and nation-building, centred on the institution of the Shah monarchy, Hinduism, and the Nepali language vis-à-vis Nepal’s high degree of socio-cultural diversity. Second, it explores the difficulties in democratising Nepal’s constitutional arrangements and entrenching the doctrine of popular sovereignty. This is reflected in the tensions between hereditary political power (the Shah monarchy and the Rana Prime Ministers) and representative political forces (political parties). Constitutionally, these tensions have resulted in the marginalisation of the legislature vis-à-vis the executive throughout the country’s history, notwithstanding the fact that Nepal has always featured a parliamentary form of government. Lastly, the frequent changes in Nepal’s fundamental law also reflect the profound influences of various foreign institutional models (in particular that of a ‘modified’ Westminster model) and their specific re-negotiation in the Nepali context, regardless of the fact that Nepal was never colonised.

Following the successful formula of the series, this book offers an introductory but authoritative overview to the Constitution of Bangladesh. It looks at the shape and working of the Constitution, while introducing the reader to it key stakeholders. It sets out the features unique to the Bangladeshi situation and the specific challenges that rise. With the opening key words and end of chapter further reading recommendations, this is the ideal starting point for students if this fascinating state and its governing framework.

This book introduces the reader to the Italian Constitution, which entered into force on 1 January 1948, and examines whether it has successfully managed the political and legal challenges that have occurred since its inception, and fulfilled the three main functions of a Constitution: maintaining a community, protecting the fundamental rights of citizens and ensuring the separation of powers.

This new edition of the leading introduction to the subject presents the South African Constitution in its historical and social context.The book provides students and teachers of constitutional law and politics an invaluable resource through which to understand the emergence, development and continuing application of the supreme law of South Africa. The chapters present a detailed analysis of the different provisions of the Constitution, providing a clear, accessible and informed view of the Constitution's structure and role in the new South Africa. Main themes include a description of the historical context and emergence of the Constitution through the democratic transition; the implementation of the Constitution and its role in building a new democratic society; the interaction of the Constitution with the existing law and legal institutions, including the common law, indigenous law and traditional authorities; as well as a focus on the strains placed on the new constitutional order by both the historical legacies of apartheid and new problems facing South Africa.

This new edition of the leading introduction to the subject presents the South African Constitution in its historical and social context.The book provides students and teachers of constitutional law and politics an invaluable resource through which to understand the emergence, development and continuing application of the supreme law of South Africa. The chapters present a detailed analysis of the different provisions of the Constitution, providing a clear, accessible and informed view of the Constitution's structure and role in the new South Africa. Main themes include a description of the historical context and emergence of the Constitution through the democratic transition; the implementation of the Constitution and its role in building a new democratic society; the interaction of the Constitution with the existing law and legal institutions, including the common law, indigenous law and traditional authorities; as well as a focus on the strains placed on the new constitutional order by both the historical legacies of apartheid and new problems facing South Africa.

This collection of essays from Dieter Grimm, Germany’s most renowned constitutional scholar, shines a light on the jurisprudence of the German Constitutional Court and constitutional adjudication in general. Established in 1951, the court has become a blueprint for new courts ever since and its jurisprudence, particularly in the field of fundamental rights, has influenced the decisions of judges throughout the world. After the seismic constitutional changes of the years 1989–90 in Germany and beyond, many countries adopted new democratic constitutions and established constitutional courts in order to make their constitutions effective. Today, many of these courts are under attack both politically and intellectually. In this book, Grimm considers some of the fundamental questions under academic scrutiny today: are constitutional courts political or legal institutions? Is judicial review a political or a legal activity? Is it a threat to, or a condition, of democracy? Should these courts be abolished or strengthened? Is a rational interpretation of constitutional law possible? The essays provide answers to these questions and describe how constitutional courts work if they properly fulfill their function of enforcing the constitution. A special emphasis is put on the importance of constitutional interpretation: something, the author argues, that most critics of constitutional adjudication neglect.

This collection of essays from Dieter Grimm, Germany’s most renowned constitutional scholar, shines a light on the jurisprudence of the German Constitutional Court and constitutional adjudication in general. Established in 1951, the court has become a blueprint for new courts ever since and its jurisprudence, particularly in the field of fundamental rights, has influenced the decisions of judges throughout the world. After the seismic constitutional changes of the years 1989–90 in Germany and beyond, many countries adopted new democratic constitutions and established constitutional courts in order to make their constitutions effective. Today, many of these courts are under attack both politically and intellectually. In this book, Grimm considers some of the fundamental questions under academic scrutiny today: are constitutional courts political or legal institutions? Is judicial review a political or a legal activity? Is it a threat to, or a condition, of democracy? Should these courts be abolished or strengthened? Is a rational interpretation of constitutional law possible? The essays provide answers to these questions and describe how constitutional courts work if they properly fulfill their function of enforcing the constitution. A special emphasis is put on the importance of constitutional interpretation: something, the author argues, that most critics of constitutional adjudication neglect.

This volume addresses the important, but under-noticed, question of the impact of state size and scale for constitutional law and governance.Often, the best way to understand the effect of scale is to examine states where scale is demonstrably lacking. Doing so allows a form of 'reflective' comparison that provides greater insight and clarity into the significance of state size, and constitutional scale, as factors affecting a range of constitutional outcomes. As such, the collection brings together scholars from a wide range of jurisdictions, living and working across the Global South and North, to focus on the lessons from a range of small states and jurisdictions in this context. Attention is devoted to the constitutional experiences of such states and jurisdictions in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, the Caribbean and Oceania. The volume also explicitly invites critical reflection on, and problemisation, of the issues of line-drawing and boundary definition around notions of state and jurisdictional size.It will be of interest to audiences working in and interested in small states generally, as well as a broader comparative audience interested in issues of scale in constitutional design and implementation.

This volume is the first in-depth collection to explore the impact of language on the field of comparative constitutional law. It addresses the epistemological and conceptual implications of English as the lingua franca. In this regard, it considers the global influence of Anglophone jurisdictions in orienting the discourse through the identification of concepts, designs and ideas that warrant engagement and exploration outside of those origin jurisdictions. In doing so, the book underscores that language is not a neutral device but can produce hegemonic pressures and expectations. It further makes the role of language in conducting comparative constitutional law explicit, so that its users can be more deliberate in their selection of foreign materials and are made conscious of the limitations of their findings due to language barriers. The book calls for a reckoning with the rich constitutional vocabulary that non-Anglophone jurisdictions have to offer to ensure a more holistic approach to the creation of knowledge. It also emphasises the need for the contextualised study of constitutional phenomena to appreciate how these are shaped by linguistic choices. In addition to raising awareness about language’s significance as an epistemological, conceptual and methodological device, the volume also puts forward constructive tools and techniques to harness language's potential, making it an indispensable resource for scholars, students, lawmakers and judges.

This book challenges the near-universal acceptance of a US-style, Western constitutional paradigm as the best basis for comparative constitutional studies.It does so on three main grounds: anachronism, ‘othering’ and cultural specificity. Main pillars of ‘convergent constitutional theory’ are rooted in the revolutionary, late-eighteenth century – a lost world; constitutional arrangements that deviate from the paradigm are often branded as ‘outliers’ or even as not constitutional at all; and the foundations of the paradigm in liberal democracy give no space for other forms of constitutionalism. Whatever the attractions of convergent theory as a normative ideal of good government, for the purposes of understanding, analysing and explaining constitutional systems it is far from ideal.This book discusses and questions: convergent theory’s weddedness to writing as the technology of constitution-making; its image of a constitution as fundamental law; its idea that a constitution expresses the ‘sovereignty of the people’; its use of tripartite separation of powers as the basic principle of institutional design; its relative neglect of administrative law; its association of ‘rights’ with judicially enforceable bills of rights; and its obsession with a vaguely specified concept of ‘democracy’.It makes suggestions for alternative, preferable methods of understanding, analysing and explaining constitutions, and governmental and constitutional systems.

“[The] written style is admirably clear, conversational and free from jargon … It will be of immense interest to anybody with a general interest in UK law, politics and history.” Times Higher EducationThis engaging, authoritative text has, since its very first edition, maintained its position as the market-leading introduction to the constitution of the United Kingdom. Adopting a thematic approach, it discusses questions of history, sources and conventions, the role of the Crown, Parliament and the electoral system, government and the executive, the judiciary, and the territorial distribution of power. In addition, it offers analysis of the evolution of the UK's historic non-codified constitution, its strengths and perceived weaknesses, and of reform initiatives. The new edition systematically examines the impact of the recent developments, including how COVID changed how government operated, the revolving door of Prime Ministers, the election of the Labour government, and the accession of King Charles III.Though introductory in approach, it does not shy away from the complexity of the constitutional landscape in the United Kingdom. It provides a contextual overview of the principles, doctrines and institutions that underpin the elusive constitution, allowing students of law and politics, both from the UK and abroad, to develop an informed view of how it actually works.

“[The] written style is admirably clear, conversational and free from jargon … It will be of immense interest to anybody with a general interest in UK law, politics and history.” Times Higher EducationThis engaging, authoritative text has, since its very first edition, maintained its position as the market-leading introduction to the constitution of the United Kingdom. Adopting a thematic approach, it discusses questions of history, sources and conventions, the role of the Crown, Parliament and the electoral system, government and the executive, the judiciary, and the territorial distribution of power. In addition, it offers analysis of the evolution of the UK's historic non-codified constitution, its strengths and perceived weaknesses, and of reform initiatives. The new edition systematically examines the impact of the recent developments, including how COVID changed how government operated, the revolving door of Prime Ministers, the election of the Labour government, and the accession of King Charles III.Though introductory in approach, it does not shy away from the complexity of the constitutional landscape in the United Kingdom. It provides a contextual overview of the principles, doctrines and institutions that underpin the elusive constitution, allowing students of law and politics, both from the UK and abroad, to develop an informed view of how it actually works.

The Treaty on European Union has had a profound impact on the process of European integration. This book commemorates the entry in force of the Treaty 20 years ago by evaluating the legal impact it has had on the European Union's institutional framework and its policies.

Constitutions serve to delineate state powers and enshrine basic rights. Such matters are hardly uncontroversial, but perhaps even more controversial are the questions of who (should) uphold(s) the Constitution and how constitutional review is organised. These two questions are the subject of this book by Maartje de Visser, which offers a comprehensive, comparative analysis of how 11 representative European countries answer these questions, as well as a critical appraisal of the EU legal order in light of these national experiences. Where possible, the book endeavours to identify Europe's common and diverse constitutional traditions of constitutional review. The raison d'être, jurisdiction and composition of constitutional courts are explored and so too are core features of the constitutional adjudicatory process. Yet, this book also deliberately draws attention to the role of non-judicial actors in upholding the Constitution, as well as the complex interplay amongst constitutional courts and other actors at the national and European level. The Member States featured are: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, and the United Kingdom.This book is intended for practitioners, academics and students with an interest in (European) constitutional law.

This book provides a critical introduction to Chile’s constitutional system, covering its key elements.It provides:- an account of its historical origins;- the structure of the different branches of government;- the way the fundamental rights are recognised and guaranteed; - the recent judicialisation of politics experienced by the country. Furthermore, the volume addresses three crucial themes of Chile's constitutionalism that have received little scholarly attention. First, the early development of a constitutional state, toward the mid-19th century, in a region then plagued with state-formation problems, civil war, and authoritarian regimes. Second, the irruption of a military dictatorship that lasted 17 years (1973-1990) in a country that had achieved a decades-old constitutional democracy. And third, the persistent lack of legitimacy of the Constitution of 1980, after more than a quarter of a century during which it governed what was generally considered to be a successful transition to democracy, following the dictatorial regime of General Augusto Pinochet.

Adopting a comparative perspective, this book offers a comprehensive study of the institution of constitutional review in 11 European countries (Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland and the United Kingdom) as well as a critical appraisal of the EU legal order in light of these national experiences. Where possible, the book endeavours to identify Europe’s common and diverse constitutional traditions of constitutional review. More particularly, the raison d’être, jurisdiction and composition of constitutional courts are explored and so too are core features of the constitutional adjudicatory process. Yet, this book also deliberately draws attention to the role of non-judicial actors in upholding the Constitution, as well as the complex interplay amongst constitutional courts and other actors at the national and European level.‘ ... a highly welcome contribution as a well-researched handbook for all those interested in comparative constitutional legal studies in the Member States and the EU constitutional legal order’. Benedikt Pirker, European Law Blog‘ ... this book is a veritable tour de force as it is a tour d’Europe. Comparative analysis of constitutional review from a neutral perspective encompassing eleven states and the EU, is a highly ambitious project, one that de Visser has achieved in accomplishing with great skill and eloquence’. Joelle Grogan, EUtopia Law Blog‘Ultimately, Maartje de Visser’s comparative contribution to the exploration of the constitutional review issue should be warmly welcomed as an even-handed, lucidly written and insightful addition to the ever-swelling body of scholarship in this area … the author has managed to construct, without superficiality and with well-paced order, a comprehensive and credible survey of constitutional review practices across Europe – a survey that is at once a heavy-duty piece of scholarship and a generally fascinating book’. Joseph Tomlinson, Cambridge Law Journal‘[T]his book should be considered the new compulsory starting point for anyone interested in any key aspect of the constitutional adjudicatory process, and wishing to be quickly able to rely on authoritative points of comparison … [I]t is difficult not to be struck by the quality of the research undertaken and the subtle nature of the analysis … Written in an engaging style, which constantly holds the reader’s attention, de Visser’s monograph makes a decisive contribution to our understanding of the institution of constitutional review in Europe. There is little doubt that it will become a classic reference for the practitioners, academics and students of comparative constitutional law’.Laurent Pech, International Journal of Constitutional Law Blog (ICON-NECT)

Legal education systems, like legal systems themselves, were framed across Asia without exception according to foreign models. These reflect the vestiges of colonialism, and can be said to amount to imitating the style and purposes of legal education typical in Western and relatively "pure" common law and civilian systems. Today, however, we see Asian legal education coming into its own and beginning to accept responsibility for designing curricula and approaches that fit the region’s particular needs. This book explores how conventional "transplanted" approaches as regards program design as well as modes of teaching are, or are on the cusp of being, reimagined and discerns emerging home-grown traces of innovation replacing imitation in countries and universities across East Asia.

The European Yearbook of Constitutional Law (EYCL) is an annual publication devoted to the study of constitutional law. It aims to provide a forum for in-depth analysis and discussion of new developments in the field, both in Europe and beyond. This second volume examines the constitutional positioning of cities across space and time. Unrelenting urbanisation means that most people are, or soon will be, living in cities and that city administrations become, in many respects, their quintessential governing units. Cities are places where State power is operationalised and concretised; where laws and government policies transform from parchment objectives to practical realities. In a similar vein, cities are also places for the realisation of the constitutional rights and liberties enjoyed by individuals.The book is organised around three sets of relations that await further unpacking in theory as well as practice: that between cities and other institutions in the national constitutional architecture; that between cities and their inhabitants; and that between cities and international organisations. The contributions to this book show the marked diversity in the role and powers available to cities in Europe and beyond, and identify principles and approaches to help stipulate new ways of thinking about the legal role and relevance of cities going forward.Ernst Hirsch Ballin is distinguished university professor at Tilburg University and vice-dean for research of Tilburg Law School. Gerhard van der Schyff is associate professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance. Maarten Stremler is lecturer at Maastricht University, Faculty of Law, Department of Public Law. Maartje De Visser is associate professor at SMU School of Law, Singapore.

The European Yearbook of Constitutional Law (EYCL) is an annual publication devoted to the study of constitutional law. It aims to provide a forum for in-depth analysis and discussion of new developments in the field, both in Europe and beyond. This second volume examines the constitutional positioning of cities across space and time. Unrelenting urbanisation means that most people are, or soon will be, living in cities and that city administrations become, in many respects, their quintessential governing units. Cities are places where State power is operationalised and concretised; where laws and government policies transform from parchment objectives to practical realities. In a similar vein, cities are also places for the realisation of the constitutional rights and liberties enjoyed by individuals.The book is organised around three sets of relations that await further unpacking in theory as well as practice: that between cities and other institutions in the national constitutional architecture; that between cities and their inhabitants; and that between cities and international organisations. The contributions to this book show the marked diversity in the role and powers available to cities in Europe and beyond, and identify principles and approaches to help stipulate new ways of thinking about the legal role and relevance of cities going forward.Ernst Hirsch Ballin is distinguished university professor at Tilburg University and vice-dean for research of Tilburg Law School. Gerhard van der Schyff is associate professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance. Maarten Stremler is lecturer at Maastricht University, Faculty of Law, Department of Public Law. Maartje De Visser is associate professor at SMU School of Law, Singapore.

The European Yearbook of Constitutional Law (EYCL) is an annual publication devoted to the study of constitutional law.

The European Yearbook of Constitutional Law (EYCL) is an annual publication devoted to the study of constitutional law.

The European Yearbook of Constitutional Law (EYCL) is an annual publication devoted to the study of constitutional law. It aims to provide a forum for in-depth analysis and discussion of new developments in the field, both in Europe and beyond. This fourth volume of the EYCL addresses the underexplored and contentious topic of whether the EU possesses a constitutional identity of its own. To date, the main focus of scholarship and case law concerns the constitutional identities of the Member States of the EU. This is because the EU has to respect such identities according to article 4(2) TEU.The attention for Member States’ constitutional identities stands in stark contrast to the notion of an EU constitutional identity. Such an identity features very little in the literature and debate on constitutional identity and the legal architecture of the EU. Consequently, this edition of the EYCL addresses the gap in legal research by studying constitutional identity with a focus on the EU itself. The book explores various views on whether the EU possesses such an identity and what any possible identity might entail. In this way, a fuller and more inclusive picture can be formed of constitutional identity as it relates to the multilevel constitutional order inhabited by the EU and its Member States.This volume will be of special interest to constitutional and legal scholars who are interested in EU and national constitutional law, as well as to political scientists. In addition, the book is relevant for judges, government officials, judges and policy-makers who work with EU (constitutional) law and its relationship with national (constitutional) law.Jurgen de Poorter is State Councillor at the Dutch Council of State and professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance. Gerhard van der Schyff is associate professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Lawand Governance. Maarten Stremler is assistant professor at Maastricht University, Faculty of Law, Department of Public Law. Maartje De Visser is associate professor at SMU School of Law, Singapore. Ingrid Leijten is professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance. Charlotte van Oirsouw is PhD researcher at Utrecht University, Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law.

The European Yearbook of Constitutional Law (EYCL) is an annual publication devoted to the study of constitutional law. It aims to provide a forum for in-depth analysis and discussion of new developments in the field, both in Europe and beyond. This fourth volume of the EYCL addresses the underexplored and contentious topic of whether the EU possesses a constitutional identity of its own. To date, the main focus of scholarship and case law concerns the constitutional identities of the Member States of the EU. This is because the EU has to respect such identities according to article 4(2) TEU.The attention for Member States’ constitutional identities stands in stark contrast to the notion of an EU constitutional identity. Such an identity features very little in the literature and debate on constitutional identity and the legal architecture of the EU. Consequently, this edition of the EYCL addresses the gap in legal research by studying constitutional identity with a focus on the EU itself. The book explores various views on whether the EU possesses such an identity and what any possible identity might entail. In this way, a fuller and more inclusive picture can be formed of constitutional identity as it relates to the multilevel constitutional order inhabited by the EU and its Member States.This volume will be of special interest to constitutional and legal scholars who are interested in EU and national constitutional law, as well as to political scientists. In addition, the book is relevant for judges, government officials, judges and policy-makers who work with EU (constitutional) law and its relationship with national (constitutional) law.Jurgen de Poorter is State Councillor at the Dutch Council of State and professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance. Gerhard van der Schyff is associate professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Lawand Governance. Maarten Stremler is assistant professor at Maastricht University, Faculty of Law, Department of Public Law. Maartje De Visser is associate professor at SMU School of Law, Singapore. Ingrid Leijten is professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance. Charlotte van Oirsouw is PhD researcher at Utrecht University, Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law.

The European Yearbook of Constitutional Law (EYCL) is an annual publication devoted to the study of constitutional law. It aims to provide a forum for in-depth analysis and discussion of new developments in the field, both in Europe and beyond.This book addresses the theme Constitutional Law in the Digital Era. Societies are increasingly affected by the use of digital technologies by both public and private actors. This has resulted in a range of normative questions that require a constitutional response. The book explores a number of issues concerning the relationship between the impact of digitalisation and constitutional values by examining the constitutional challenges arising from the increasing use of digital technologies and develops potential constitutional responses and remedies to these challenges.This volume will be of special interest to constitutional and legal scholars who are interested in EU and national constitutional law, as well as to social scientists more generally (e.g. governance, sociology, science and technology, as well as computer and data scientists). In addition, the book is relevant for judges, government officials and policy-makers who work on the intersection of digitalisation and (EU) constitutional law.Charlotte van Oirsouw is a PhD researcher at Utrecht University School of Law, Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law. Jurgen de Poorter is State Councillor at the Dutch Council of State and Professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance. Ingrid Leijten is Professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance. Gerhard van der Schyff is Associate Professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance. Maarten Stremler is Assistant Professor at Maastricht University, Faculty of Law, Department of Public Law. Maartje De Visser is Professor at Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore Management University.Chapter 10 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

The European Yearbook of Constitutional Law (EYCL) is an annual publication devoted to the study of constitutional law. It aims to provide a forum for in-depth analysis and discussion of new developments in the field, both in Europe and beyond.This book addresses the theme Constitutional Law in the Digital Era. Societies are increasingly affected by the use of digital technologies by both public and private actors. This has resulted in a range of normative questions that require a constitutional response. The book explores a number of issues concerning the relationship between the impact of digitalisation and constitutional values by examining the constitutional challenges arising from the increasing use of digital technologies and develops potential constitutional responses and remedies to these challenges.This volume will be of special interest to constitutional and legal scholars who are interested in EU and national constitutional law, as well as to social scientists more generally (e.g. governance, sociology, science and technology, as well as computer and data scientists). In addition, the book is relevant for judges, government officials and policy-makers who work on the intersection of digitalisation and (EU) constitutional law.Charlotte van Oirsouw is a PhD researcher at Utrecht University School of Law, Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law. Jurgen de Poorter is State Councillor at the Dutch Council of State and Professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance. Ingrid Leijten is Professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance. Gerhard van der Schyff is Associate Professor at Tilburg Law School, Department of Public Law and Governance. Maarten Stremler is Assistant Professor at Maastricht University, Faculty of Law, Department of Public Law. Maartje De Visser is Professor at Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore Management University.Chapter 10 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.