THE ROLE OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS IN MULTILEVEL GOVERNANCE
THE ROLE OF
CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS IN MULTILEVEL GOVER NANCE
Patricia Popelier Armen Mazmanyan Werner Vandenbruwaene
(eds.)
Cambridge – Antwerp – Portland
Th e Role of Constitutional Courts in Multilevel Governance
Patricia Popelier, Armen Mazmanyan and Werner Vandenbruwaene (eds.)
© 2013 Intersentia
Cambridge – Antwerp – Portland
www.intersentia.com | www.intersentia.co.uk
Cover image: Blütenzauber, Klee Paul (1879-1940) © Musée national d’Art moderne – Centre Georges Pompidou, MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/
Jean-Claude Planchet
ISBN 978-1-78068-106-1 D/2013/7849/3
NUR 828
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Intersentia v
CONTENTS
Chapter 1.
Constitutional Courts and Multilevel Governance in Europe.
Editors’ Introduction
Armen Mazmanyan, Patricia Popelier and Werner
Vandenbruwaene . . . 1 1. Institutional transformation and the expansion of constitutional review. . 1 2. Th e expansion of the scope and functions of constitutional review . . . 6 2.1. Constitutional courts as guardians of fundamental rights . . . 6 2.2. Constitutional courts as watchdogs over the institutional balance . . 8 2.3. Constitutional courts as forums for deliberation . . . 11 2.4. Constitutional courts as regulatory watchdogs . . . 13 3. Navigating the meanders of multi-level governance . . . 15 PART I.
CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS AS GUARDIANS OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
Chapter 2.
Constitutional Courts as Guardians of Fundamental Rights.
Th e constitutionalisation of the Convention through domestic constitutional adjudication
Catherine Van de Heyning . . . 21 1. Introduction . . . 21 2. Th e role of constitutional courts in the embedding of the Strasbourg
jurisprudence . . . 25 2.1. Interpretation in the light of the Convention . . . 28 2.2. A Convention infringement as a constitutional violation . . . 30 2.3. Convention harmonious interpretation as a constitutional
obligation . . . 32 3. Incentives and hindrances to the domestic embedding of the
Strasbourg jurisprudence . . . 33 3.1. Strasbourg jurisprudence as binding or inspirational? . . . 33 3.2. Hindrances to the embedding of Strasbourg jurisprudence . . . 36
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4. Th e European Court of Human Rights as a constitutional court . . . 39
4.1. A constitutional role for the European Court of Human Rights . . . 39
4.2. A fundamental dichotomy . . . 43
5. Conclusion . . . 48
Chapter 3. Th e Challenges for Constitutional Courts as Guardians of Fundamental Rights in the European Union Aida Torres Pérez . . . 49
1. Introduction . . . 49
2. A disturbing scenario for constitutional courts . . . 51
2.1. Decentralising the judicial review of legislation . . . 51
2.2. Reviewing domestic legislation in light of EU fundamental rights . . . 53
3. Rethinking the role of constitutional courts . . . 61
4. Case study: constitutional confl icts on the European Arrest Warrant . . . 66
5. Concluding remarks . . . 75
PART II. CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS AS WATCHDOGS OVER THE INSTITUTIONAL BALANCE Chapter 4. Th e Role of National Constitutional Courts in the European Legal Space Monica Claes and Bruno De Witte . . . 79
1. Introduction . . . 79
2. Th e legal routes for entering the European legal space . . . 83
2.1. European Convention law . . . 83
2.2. EU law . . . 87
3. Facilitating European legal integration . . . 92
3.1. Facilitating the general development of EU law and its reception in the national legal order . . . 92
4. Constitutional courts and the development of a common constitutional heritage . . . 94
5. Constitutional courts up in arms . . . 101
6. Final remarks . . . 104
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Chapter 5.
Regions and Constitutional Courts in a Multilayered Europe
Anna Gamper . . . 105
1. Th e new role of constitutional courts in multilevel governance . . . 105
2. Th e regions of Europe: a classifi cation . . . 107
3. Premises for the judicial protection of regions . . . 109
4. Constitutional avenues to the protection of regional interests by national constitutional courts . . . 110
4.1. Organisational approach . . . 110
4.2. Functional approach . . . 111
5. Regions and the CJEU de lege lata . . . 117
6. Stakeholders as an alternative model? . . . 121
7. Regional access to subsidiarity actions: national arrangements . . . 123
8. Regions and the CJEU de lege ferenda . . . 126
9. Conclusion . . . 129
Chapter 6. Th e Judicial Enforcement of Subsidiarity. Th e comparative quest for an appropriate standard Werner Vandenbruwaene . . . 131
1. Introduction . . . 131
2. Subsidiarity: a multilevel concept . . . 133
2.1. Multilevel governance . . . 133
2.2. Th e principle of subsidiarity . . . 134
3. Th e judicial enforcement of subsidiarity . . . 137
4. Subsidiarity as a non-justiciable political question: three questions . . . . 139
4.1. Question 1 – Is there an explicit textual commitment to political resolution of subsidiarity? . . . 140
4.1.1. Concerning constitutional subsidiarity . . . 140
4.1.2. Concerning legislative subsidiarity . . . 140
4.1.2.1. Th e Bundesverfassungsgericht on Article 72 II GG . . . 140
4.1.2.2. Th e CJEU on Article 5(3) TEU . . . 141
4.1.2.3. Th e Belgian Constitutional Court on local autonomy . . . 142
4.2. Question 2 – Are there prudential reasons for judicial self-restraint? . . . 142
4.2.1. Concerning constitutional subsidiarity . . . 142
4.2.2. Concerning legislative subsidiarity . . . 144
4.2.2.1. Th e Bundesverfassungsgericht on Article 72 II GG . . . 144
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4.2.2.2. Th e CJEU on Article 5(3) TEU . . . 144
4.2.2.3. Th e Belgian Constitutional Court on local autonomy . . . 145
4.3. Question 3 – Methodological barriers to justiciability? . . . 146
4.3.1. Concerning constitutional subsidiarity . . . 146
4.3.2. Concerning legislative subsidiarity . . . 146
4.3.2.1. Th e Bundesverfassungsgericht on Article 72 II GG . . . 146
4.3.2.2. Th e CJEU on Article 5(3) TEU . . . 147
4.3.2.3. Th e Belgian Constitutional Court on local autonomy . . . 147
5. How to remedy the methodological objections? Capita selecta . . . 147
5.1. Th e Bundesverfassungsgericht on Article 72 II GG . . . 148
5.2. Th e CJEU on Article 5(3) TEU . . . 152
5.3. Th e Belgian Constitutional Court on local autonomy . . . 159
6. General observations on methodology . . . 160
7. Conclusion . . . 164
PART III. CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS AS FORA FOR DELIBERATION Chapter 7. Majoritarianism, Deliberation and Accountability as Institutional Instincts of Constitutional Courts Armen Mazmanyan . . . 167
1. Majoritarian countermajoritarian courts: introduction . . . 167
2. Majoritarian courts: perspectives from the theories of constitutional dialogue. . . 168
3. Majoritarian courts: evidence . . . 171
4. Expanding the case study: evidence from non-consolidated democracies . . . 173
5. Why do constitutional courts make popular decisions? . . . 176
6. Deliberative courts: implications for multilevel systems of governance . . . 179
7. Conclusions . . . 181
Chapter 8. Constitutional Courts and Deliberative Democracy Mark Van Hoecke . . . 183
1. Introduction . . . 183
2. Ideological backgrounds . . . 184
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3. Legitimation of constitutional review . . . 185
4. Legitimation through deliberative communication . . . 190
5. Th e constitutional interpretive community . . . 192
Chapter 9. Deliberative Practices of Constitutional Courts in Consolidated and Non-Consolidated Democracies Patricia Popelier and Aída Araceli Patiño Álvarez . . . 199
1. Th e role of courts in deliberative theory . . . 199
2. Brief introduction to the legal and political context . . . 203
2.1. Deliberative judicial review in consensus democracies . . . 204
2.2. Deliberative judicial review in Latin America . . . 206
3. Deliberative practices of constitutional courts in old and new democracies . . . 208
3.1. Variable 1. Access to the Court . . . 208
3.1.1. Limited access . . . 209
3.1.2. Wide access . . . 211
3.2. Variable 2. Th e set of reference norms . . . 215
3.3. Variable 3. Reasoning . . . 218
3.3.1. Transparency of the reasoning process . . . 218
3.3.2. Reasoning . . . 221
3.4. Variable 4. Sanctioning and modalities . . . 223
3.5. Variable 5. Review against procedural norms . . . 226
3.6. Variable 6. Review against deliberative requirements included in legal principles . . . 229
4. Conclusion . . . 230
PART IV. CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS AS REGULATORY WATCHDOGS Chapter 10. Th e Good Shepherd of Karlsruhe. Th e ‘Hartz IV’ decision – A good example of regulatory review by the German Federal Constitutional Court? Klaus Meßerschmidt . . . 235
1. Introduction . . . 235
2. Th e image and role of the constitutional court as regulatory watchdog . . . 237
2.1. Judicial activism versus judicial self-restraint . . . 237
2.2. Diff erent approaches to judicial review . . . 238
3. Challenges to the procedural approach of regulatory review . . . 240
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4. Hartz IV Case . . . 243
5. Outlook . . . 247
Chapter 11. Th e Court as Regulatory Watchdog. Th e procedural approach in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights Patricia Popelier . . . 249
1. Rationality, legitimacy and the rise of regulatory reform programs . . . . 249
2. Procedural rationality as a middle way between deference and rights protection . . . 251
3. Procedural rationality versus parliamentary sovereignty . . . 254
4. Th e European Court of Human Rights as regulatory watchdog: analysis of case law . . . 257
4.1. Consultation procedures . . . 258
4.2. Evidence based law making . . . 259
4.3. Ex post evaluation . . . 263
4.4. Self-regulation and co-regulation . . . 264
5. Conclusion . . . 265
Chapter 12. Courts as Regulatory Watchdogs. Does the European Court of Justice bark or bite? David Keyaerts . . . 269
1. Introduction . . . 269
2. Better Regulation in the EU . . . 271
3. Should EU courts act as regulatory watchdogs? . . . 274
4. Impact of Better Regulation in case law of the EU courts . . . 277
4.1. Introduction: convergence between BR output standards and the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity . . . 277
4.2. Low intensity of review . . . 279
4.3. Th e recourse to procedural requirements . . . 281
4.3.1. Introduction . . . 281
4.3.2. Th e principle of proportionality and due care requirements . . . 281
4.3.3. Essential procedural requirement . . . 284
4.3.4. Self-binding eff ect of BR Programme commitments . . . 285
4.3.5. Th e principle of proportionality and IA as procedural requirement . . . 287
5. Conclusion . . . 288
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Chapter 13.
Standing Rights and Regulatory Dynamics in the European Union
Anne Meuwese . . . 291
1. Introduction . . . 291
2. Standing rights and regulation . . . 295
3. Standing rights and participation . . . 296
4. Pre-Lisbon case law: restrictive on ‘individual concern’ . . . 297
5. Craft ing the reform of Article 263 para 4 TFEU . . . 300
6. Recent case law: still restrictive? . . . 302
7. Conclusion: what change in regulatory dynamics? . . . 308
