Comparative Constitutional Law
Course type
Study programme and level
Language
slovenščina
Lectures | Seminar | Tutorial | Druge oblike študija | Individual Work | ECTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
30 | 120 | 6 |
Study programme and level | Study field | Academic year | Semester |
II. level | Law | 1/2 | 1/2 |
Course Type
Elective
Workload | Lectures (h/semester) | Seminar
(h/semester) |
Tutorial
(h/semester) |
Individual Work (h/semester) | ECTS |
30 | 120 | 6 |
Lecturer
prof. dr. Arne M. Mavčič
Language
English
Prerequisites
Fulfillment of requirements to enroll in the 1st year.
Content (Syllabus outline)
1. General presentation of comparative constitutional law
– The historical origin of constitutions
– Historical development of the constitutionality of
– Material notion of constitutionality
– Socio-economic causes of the emergence of written constitutions
2. Individual groups of constitutions
– Historical ranking
– Geographical classification
3. Basic characteristics of some constitutions– USA
– United Kingdom
– Germany
– Switzerland
– New Democracies
– Africa
– Asia
– Central and South America
– Australia
4. The geographical origin of constitutions
5. Approaches (methods ) to the study of constitutions
– The legal approach
– The sociological approach
6. Types of constitutions
– Written and unwritten constitution
– Written and documentary Constitution
– Codified constitution and non-codified
– Firm and flexible constitutions
– Complex vision of the Constitution
– Violation of the Constitution , constitutional transition , assuming the constitutional texts as models and
– Transplantation of constitutions
– Constitutional moments and transition
– Constitutional consolidation , courts and democracy
II . Comparing of the national regulations
1. The national constitutional system and its components
2. Specificities of each type of constitutional arrangement
3. Constitution in the material sense
4. The Constitution in the formal sense
5. Deviation of the elements of the constitution in the formal sense
6. Sources of Constitutional Law
6.1 . International treaties
6.1 . The Constitution
6.3 . Legislation
6.4 . Case-Law
6.5 . Customary law
6.6 . Unwritten law
6.7 . General principles of law
III . Constitutional Review
1. The development of judicial/constitutional review
- Modern systems of judicial/constitutional review
2.1 . Systems with diffuse judicial review of the constitutionality
2.2 . Systems with concentrated judicial review of the constitutionality
2.3 . Other forms of judicial review of the constitutionality
2.4 . Special systems of judicial review of the constitutionality
IV . COMPARATIVE HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
1 The constitutional provisions on human rights
1.1 . Systems of regulation
1 2 Types of rights
1.2.1 . Individual and collective rights
1.2.2 . Civil and political rights
1.2.3 . Economic, social and cultural rights
2 Protection of human rights
2.1 . National protection
2.1.1 . Formal protection
2.1.1.1.Ordinary judiciary
2.1.1.2 . Special judiciary
2.1.1.3 . Constitutional Justice
2.1.2 . Informal protection
2.1.2.1 . Ombudsman
2.1.2.2 . Other forms of protection ( non-governmental organizations , etc.).
2.2 . International protection
2.2.1.Universal protection
2.2.2. United Nations
2.2.3 . Regional protection
2.2.3.1 . The European Court of Human Rights
2.2.3.2 . Inter- American Court of Human Rights
2.2.3.4 . African Court of Human Rights
2.2.3.5 . International Court of Human Rights after the Dayton Agreement ( Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Using the principles of the international protection under the national protection
2.4 . Individual constitutional rights and comparative constitutional law
V. SPECIAL ISSUES
1 The supervisory function of parliaments in the European parliamentary democracy
2 Defense and security measures in the individual country arrangements
3 Human rights – citizens and foreigners
4 The relationship between the state and religious communities
EXERCISES : Model Constitution; exercises in which candidates place the constitutional provisions ” adoptees ” in the respective model ; comparison models .
Study Literature
OBLIGATORY WEBSITES
Internet (www.us-rs.si links);
Internet (www.concourts.net comparisons);
www.venice.coe.int
Venice Commission, A.C.C.P.U.F. https://www.accpuf.org/
(ICL/Germany, Voronum/Armenia, Constitutional Finder/Jones-Richmond/USA) https://www.constituteproject.org/
ICL Wuerzburg: www.servat.unibe.ch/icl
OBLIGATORY LITERATURE:
- CONSTITUTIONAL law in Slovenia / Arne Mavčič … [et al.]. – Alphen aan den Rijn : Kluwer Law International, cop. 2012. – 378 str. ISBN 978-90-411-4635-9
- Mavčič, Arne, Primerjalno ustavno pravo-pravo človekovih pravic, Pasadena Ljubljana, 2002.
- Mavčič, The Constitutional Review, izd. 2013: http://www.amazon.com/The-Constitutional-Review-Second-Edition/dp/1600421938
Facultative literature:
- Hans Kelsen: Čista teorija prava, slovenski prevod. Ljubljana 2006: http://www.gvzalozba.si/si/revije/pravna-praksa/arhiv-1/704,240/
- Rupnik Janko, Ustavnost, demokracija in politični sistem, Založba Obzorja, Maribor, 1975: http://books.google.si/books/about/Ustavnost_demokracija_in_politi%C4%8Dni_sist.html?id=MLsGAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y
- Premerjalno ustavno pravo, Grad, Kristan, Perenič i dr., V Ljubljani : Pravna fakulteta = Facultas iuridica, 2006 (Ljubljana : Toja)http://www.cobiss.si/scripts/cobiss?command=SEARCH&base=50051&select=ID=229547776
- Blaustein Albert P., Framing the Modern Constitution: A Checklist, A Philadelphia Constitution Foundation Book, Rothman and Co., Littleton, Colorado 80127, 1994 Blaustein Albert P. /Sigler Jay A., Constitutions That Made History, Paragon House Publishers, New York, 1988
- La Pergola Antonio, Constitucion del estado y normas internacionales, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 1989
- Sajo Andras, Limiting Government, An Introduction to Constitutionalism, CEU Press, Central University Press, Budapest, 1999
- Smith Eivind, Constitutional Justice Under Old Constitutions, Kluwer Law International, 1995
- Van Maarseveen Henc, Van der Tang Ger, Written Constitutions (A Computerized Comparative Study), Oceana Publications Inc., New York, Sijthoff and Nordhoff, Netherlands, 1978
- Venter Francois, Constitutional Comparison, Kluwer International, Juta, 2000
Objectives and competences
Students will develop general competencies: knowledge of the constitutional and legal systems in world.
Intended learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding:
- Compulsory participation in class discussions. • Introduction to the statutory examples that impact on the final assessment exam.
- An optional exam before the exam or essay type or the take home, for self-examination
Writing a research paper.
Learning and teaching methods
Lectures are based on the representation of matter with modern computer-based visual means.
Tutorial: Comparing the structure of the Constitution with the structures of foreign constitutions (www.concourts.net; www.servat.unibe.ch/icl), a comparison of the decision in the proceedings of the constitutional complaint before the Constitutional Court of Slovenia (www.us-rs.si) with a related decision from particular foreign constitutional courts and the European Court for Human Rights (www.echr.coe.int, www.venice.coe.int)
Assessment
Type: research paper
Lecturer’s references
Arne Mavčič, D. Law, completed his Bachelor of Law at the University of Ljubljana Law School, Slovenia in 1970, from which, after having completed his post-graduate studies in civil law at the Universities of Zagreb and Ljubljana Law Schools, he was awarded a Doctorate of Law in 1979.
From 1970 to 1973 he was legal advisor to the Slovenian Parliament; from 1974 to 1977 he was Head of the International Department of the Slovenian Health Insurance Association. From 1978 to 2002 he was the Director of the Legal Information Centre of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, since 2002 until 2009 he was a Head of the Analysis and International Cooperation Department of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, a Senior Expert Councilor to the University of Ljubljana Law School, specializing in legal information systems and constitutional law, and a Full Professor of Human Rights Law at the Faculty for State and European Studies and at the European Law School.
Dr. Mavčič was the liaison officer for Slovenia on constitutional law and legal information systems to the (Venice) Commission for Democracy through Law under the Council of Europe, was the national correspondent for Slovenia on constitutional law and legal information systems to the ACCPUF Paris, and, a national member for Slovenia of the EU Network of Experts of Human Rights, a member of the International Constitutional Law Association, a member and the national President for Slovenia of the World Jurist Association, was a Fulbright Scholar, an editor of the Collected Slovenian Constitutional Case-Law series, national editor of the East European Case Reporter of Constitutional Law and currently he is a national author for Slovenia of Kluwer’s Encyclopedia of Constitutional Law.
He is an editor and author of several other publications in the field of constitutional law as well as an author of over 300 papers and reports on national and international conferences, seminars and workshops. Of late, Dr. Mavčič has predominantly been engaged in practical and promotional activities in the fields of comparative constitutional judiciary and human rights law (www.concourts.net).