For the time being, the
political project of basing the European Union on a document entitled 'Constitution'
has failed. The second, revised and enlarged edition of this volume retains its
title nonetheless. Building on a scholarly rather than black-letter law account,
it shows European constitutional law as it looks following the Treaty of Lisbon,
with the EU's foundational treaties mandating the exercise of public authority,
establishing a hierarchy of norms and legitimising legal acts, providing for
citizenship, and granting fundamental rights. In this way the treaties shape the
relations between legal orders, between public interest regulation and market
economy, and between law and politics. The contributions demonstrate in detail
how a constitutional approach furthers understanding of the core issues of EU
law, how it offers theoretical and doctrinal insights, and how it adds critical
perspective.
