Global Constitutionalism and European Legal Experiences: Can European Constitutionalism Be Applied to the Rest of the World?

In the fourth chapter, Takao Suami takes a more ‘positive’ approach by examining the European legal experience with regional integration in past and questioning whether this can contribute to constitutionalism beyond Europe. Suami notes that most claims of Global Constitutionalism are inspired by this experience, especially by the constitutionalization of EU law. He argues, however, that legal achievements in Europe should not be automatically considered universalizable and that we must be careful about channeling European experiences into the formulation of global theories. Suami argues that nonetheless we must recognize that they do teach other regions many lessons and may be useful for a globalized world, because the unique features of EU law are not decisive in distinguishing EU law from international law. It is the substance of constitutional principles that is specific to Europe, though most countries elsewhere are formally committed to constitutional principles. The distinction between constitutional principles and specific standards embodying the principles is useful in developing constructive dialogue between Europe and East Asia for the acceptance of Global Constitutionalism.