Global Canons in an Age of Contestation Debating Foundational Texts of Constitutional Democracy and Human Rights

Comparative constitutionalism emerged in its current form against the backdrop of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. As that backdrop recedes into the past, it is being replaced by a more multi-polar and confusing world, and the current state of the discipline of comparative constitutionalism reflects this fragmentation and uncertainty. This has opened up space for new, more varied, and increasingly critical voices seeking to improve the project of democratic constitutionalism. But it also raises questions: What of the past, if anything, is worth preserving? Which more recent parts should be defining of the field? In this context, this book asks which are - or should be - the canonical texts of comparative constitutionalism. The theoretical scope of the contributions is broad and ambitious, selecting primary material from beyond the existing textbooks to engage the concept of a canon. This framework provides significant insights about inclusion and exclusion, and proposes candidates for canonical and anti-canonical materials. The result is a wide-ranging discussion, among many voices, of how particular judgments and other primary texts have shaped or should shape our understanding of central elements of democratic constitutionalism from a comparative law perspective. This book is not a prescription of one universal understanding, but a broader conversation about the field and the future of constitutional democracy.

1 - Introduction
2 - A Global Constitutional Canon v Quasi-Canon? Towards a More Informed and Inclusive Comparative Constitutionalism
3 - The Jurisprudence of Canons of Comparative Constitutional Law
4 - Emmanuel Sieyes, 'What Is the Third Estate?' (1789)
5 - A Haitian Turn
6 - Exemplary but not Canonical: The South African Voters' Rights Cases
7 - A Constitutional Canon for Africa
8 - The Mexican Constitution of 1917: A Canon for Latin American Constitutionalism
9 - Separation of Powers
10 - Global Canons, Term Limits, and the Constituent Power Theory
11 - The Canon of “Constitutional Unamendability” and “Basic Structure Doctrine” in Global Constitutional Studies
12 - The Secession and Constitutionalism Canon
13 - The Questions of Dignity
14 - Lüth and the 'Objective System of Values': From 'Limited Government' Towards an Autonomy-Based Conception of Constitutional Rights
15 - Global Proportionality Canons from Latin America
16 - Freedom of Expression and the Constitutional Canon
17 - Freedom of Religion
18 - Comparative Constitutional Law of Property
19 - Equality
20 - Gender Discrimination and Canons for Constitutional Review
21 - The Canons of Social and Economic Rights
22 - The Unsettled Canon of Social Rights Enforcement in Latin America
23 - The Due Process Canon
24 - Drawing Their Own Boundaries: Constitutional Interpretation and the Constitutional Role of Courts
25 - Techniques of Judicial Avoidance
26 - The City as a Canonical Concept in Constitutional Law (and Recent Attempts to Change That)
27 - The Canon of Nature Rights
28 - Canonizing the Corporation: Liberal, Social, and Transformative Varieties of Corporate Constitutionalism
29 - Act of State and Diplomatic Protection in the Modern Constitution: Two Case Studies
30 - The Hollow Canon of Transnational Constitutional Engagement

Sujit Choudhry is head of Haki Chambers Global, where he practices constitutional law both in Canada and globally. He previously taught at the University of Toronto, New York University, and UC Berkeley, and has been a visiting professor at Reichman University, the City University of Hong Kong, and the University of Melbourne. He has written widely on comparative constitutional law. His previous edited volumes include Security Sector Reform and Constitutional Transitions, Territory and Power in Constitutional Transitions, The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution, and Constitutional Design for Divided Societies: Integration or Accommodation? Michaela Hailbronner holds the Chair for German and International Public Law and Comparative Law at the University of Münster. Michaela has published on questions of comparative constitutional law, European law, and human rights in a range of international journals including the American Journal of Comparative Law and the Toronto Law Journal, with her article on postwar German constitutionalism winning the inaugural Best Paper Award of the International Journal of Constitutional Law (ICON). She is on the Advisory Board of the International Journal of Constitutional Law (ICON), is a co-editor of Verfassung und Recht in Übersee/World Comparative Law and serves as Co-President for the International Society of Public Law (ICON-S) from 2024-2027. Mattias Kumm is Inge Rennert professor of law at New York University. His legal scholarship mainly focuses on basic issues and contemporary challenges in Global, European, and Comparative Public Law. Beyond his current affiliations, Kumm has held professorial appointments at Harvard, Yale, and the European University Institute (EUI) among others. He is also founding co-editor in chief of Global Constitutionalism and Jus Cogens. Kumm holds an JSD from Harvard Law School and has pursued studies in law, philosophy, and political sciences at the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne, and Harvard University.