1st Edition
Rule of Law, Common Values, and Illiberal Constitutionalism Poland and Hungary within the European Union
This book challenges the idea that the Rule of Law is still a universal European value given its relatively rapid deterioration in Hungary and Poland, and the apparent inability of the European institutions to adequately address the illiberalization of these Member States. The book begins from the general presumption that the Rule of Law, since its emergence, has been a universal European value, a political ideal and legal conception. It also acknowledges that the EU has been struggling in the area of value enforcement, even if the necessary mechanisms are available and, given an innovative outlook and more political commitment, could be successfully used. The authors appreciate the different approaches toward the Rule of Law, both as a concept and as a measurable indicator, and while addressing the core question of the volume, widely rely on them. Ultimately, the book provides a snapshot of how the Rule of Law ideal has been dismantled and offers a theory of the Rule of Law in illiberal constitutionalism. It discusses why voters keep illiberal populist leaders in power when they are undeniably acting contrary to the Rule of Law ideal. The book will be of interest to academics and researchers engaged with the foundational questions of constitutionalism. The structure and nature of the subject matter covered ensure that the book will be a useful addition for comparative and national constitutional law classes. It will also appeal to legal practitioners wondering about the boundaries of the Rule of Law.
Preface;
Rule of Law: In Context;
Chapter 1;
Tímea Drinóczi – Agnieszka Bień-Kacała, Illiberal Constitutionalism and the European Rule of Law;
Rule of Law: A Common Value;
Chapter 2;
Andrzej Madeja, The European Values and the Rule of Law;
Chapter 3;
Wojciech Włoch, ‘Where the Laws Do Not Govern, There is No Constitution’: On the Relationship between the Rule of Law and Constitutionalism;
Rule of Law in National Practice: Is It a Common Value?;
Chapter 4
András Jakab and Eszter Bodnár, The Rule of Law, Democracy and Human Rights in Hungary: Tendencies from 1989 until 2019
Chapter 5;
Tímea Drinóczi, The Rule of Law: The Hungarian Perspective;
Chapter 6;
Iwona Wróblewska, The Rule of Law: The Polish Perspective;
Rule of Law and Supranational Struggles: Is It a Common Value?;
Chapter 7;
Lóránt Csink, Rule of Law in Hungary. What Can Law and Politics Do?;
Chapter 8;
Sylwia Majkowska-Szulc, Safeguarding the European Union’s Core Values: The EU Rule of Law Mission in Poland;
Chapter 9;
Agnieszka Grzelak, Are the EU Member States still Masters of the Treaties? The European Rule of Law Concept as a Means of Limiting National Authorities;
Illiberal legality vs. European Rule of Law;
Chapter 10;
Tímea Drinóczi and Agnieszka Bień-Kacała, Illiberal Legality;
Biography
Tímea Drinóczi is a Full Professor at the University of Pécs, Faculty of Law and the doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary.
Agnieszka Bien-Kacała is an Associate Professor at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Faculty of Law and Administration, Constitutional Law Department, Poland.
