In the complicated legal and political situation that reigns in Europe at the moment, characterized not at least by the uncertainty of what happens with the proposed EU constitution after negative results in the French and Dutch referendums in 2005, it has become increasingly important to analyse the EU constitutional frameworks from historical and comparative perspectives. This book provides new insights based on perspectives from Member States such as Germany and Italy as well as the Nordic Countries. It also deals with European legal and philosophical heritage in general, as well as special issues like closer cooperation among ‘Core States’ and the role of the Court of Justice in recent EC law development. It is of interest both for legal practitioners and scholars as well as students of political science and history.

Central European Constitutional Courts in the Face of EU Membership explores the enduring German legal influence on other systems of constitutional justice, concentrating on the impact of the Federal Constitutional Court’s approach to EU integration on its counterparts in Hungary and Poland. Such a model aims to protect Germany’s constitutional identity or essential core of sovereignty, the contents of which are not susceptible to transfer or limitation, in the face of the requirements of the Union’s constitutional legal order. The influence of this model on the two Central European courts has encouraged them to take an active part in negotiating the new multilayered judicial construct of Europe. Tatham thus firmly places the Hungarian and Polish constitutional courts within the overall context of the continuing dialogue between national courts and the Court of Justice in the evolution of the European constitutional space.

In the complicated legal and political situation that reigns in Europe at the moment, characterized not at least by the uncertainty of what happens with the proposed EU constitution after negative results in the French and Dutch referendums in 2005, it has become increasingly important to analyse the EU constitutional frameworks from historical and comparative perspectives. This book provides new insights based on perspectives from Member States such as Germany and Italy as well as the Nordic Countries. It also deals with European legal and philosophical heritage in general, as well as special issues like closer cooperation among ‘Core States’ and the role of the Court of Justice in recent EC law development. It is of interest both for legal practitioners and scholars as well as students of political science and history.

Central European Constitutional Courts in the Face of EU Membership explores the enduring German legal influence on other systems of constitutional justice, concentrating on the impact of the Federal Constitutional Court’s approach to EU integration on its counterparts in Hungary and Poland. Such a model aims to protect Germany’s constitutional identity or essential core of sovereignty, the contents of which are not susceptible to transfer or limitation, in the face of the requirements of the Union’s constitutional legal order. The influence of this model on the two Central European courts has encouraged them to take an active part in negotiating the new multilayered judicial construct of Europe. Tatham thus firmly places the Hungarian and Polish constitutional courts within the overall context of the continuing dialogue between national courts and the Court of Justice in the evolution of the European constitutional space.