Judges from the French, Belgian and Dutch Cassation Courts reflect on the challenges that their Courts are facing.

The EU's recently enacted Treaty on the Stability, Coordination, and Governance of the Economic and Monetary Union (generally referred to as the Fiscal Compact) has introduced a -golden rule,- which is a detailed obligation that government budgets be balanced. Moreover, it requires the 25 Members of the EU, which signed the Treaty in March 2012, to incorporate this -golden rule- within their national constitutions. This requirement represents a major and unprecedented development, raising formidable challenges to the nature and legitimacy of national constitutions, as well as to the future of...

Awareness for the need to deepen the methodological foundations of legal research is only recent. The same is true for comparative law, by nature a more adventurous branch of legal research, which is often something researchers simply do, whenever they look at foreign legal systems to answer one or more of a range of questions about law, whether these questions are doctrinal, economic, sociological, etc. Given the diversity of comparative research projects, the precise contours of the methods employed, or the epistemological issues raised by them, are to a great extent a function of the...

What does doing comparative law involve? Too often, explicit methodological discussions in comparative law remain limited to the level of pure theory, neglecting to test out critiques and recommendations on concrete issues. This book bridges this gap between theory and practice in comparative legal studies. Essays by both established and younger comparative lawyers reflect on the methodological challenges arising in their own work and in work in their area. Taken together, they offer clear recommendations for, and critical reflection on, a wide range of innovative comparative research...

Awareness of the need to deepen the method and methodology of legal research is only recent. The same is true for comparative law, by nature a more adventurous branch of legal research, which is often something researchers simply do, whenever they look at foreign legal systems to answer one or more of a range of questions about law, whether these questions are doctrinal, economic, sociological, etc. Given the diversity of comparative research projects, the precise contours of the methods employed, or the epistemological issues raised by them, are, to a great extent, a function of the nature...

The recently enacted Treaty on the Stability, Coordination and Governance of the Economic and Monetary Union (generally referred to as the Fiscal Compact) has introduced a 'golden rule', which is a detailed obligation that government budgets be balanced. Moreover, it required the 25 members of the EU which signed the Treaty in March 2012, to incorporate this 'golden rule' within their national Constitutions. This requirement represents a major and unprecedented development, raising formidable challenges to the nature and legitimacy of national Constitutions as well as to the future of the...

An exploration of how rule of law and constitutional ideals inform, and are informed by, political realities.

An exploration of how rule of law and constitutional ideals inform, and are informed by, political realities.