Supranationality is the normative principle animating European Community law. It says, roughly, that a supranational community eliminates disadvantages that arise for persons as a consequence of the co-existence of nation states. In the course of the integration process, this principle has been...

Constitutional economists perceive a constitution as a complex exchange contract. All citizens grant rights to each other and surrender some of their own options because they hope to benefit from their fellow citizens doing the same. Like a simple exchange contract a constitution is considered...

Would an observer from an outside world look on the European Union the picture would be one of a obscure rag rug, an organisation monstrum simile, as Samuel Pufendorf put it with regard to the 17th-century Holy Roman Empire. Nevertheless to the great surprise of this obeserver (and not only to...

The principle of subsidiarity can be seen as a way of generating constitutional law because it covers an essential part of procedural constitutional provisions, i. e. the allocation of competences between member states and Community. In particular it proves to be a standard of constitutional...