A new edition of this book will be published in June 2023.

Constitutions Compared was previously published by Intersentia.

Changes made in respect to the previous edition
On this page in the section downloads you will find the inspection copy. Here you can find out what changes have been made in the new edition.

The sixth edition of this widely utilized handbook provides a userfriendly and original and innovative introduction to comparative constitutional law. For each area of constitutional law, a general introduction and a comparative overview is provided, which is then followed by more detailed country chapters on that specific area. In this sixth edition, the author has expanded several chapters to provide for even more detail on national legal systems, providing examples from constitutional practice, and offering constitutional comparison. Naturally the book has been updated to include constitutional events until May 2021.
This book most notably includes many constitutional developments in the constitutional systems within our scope. Including the Brexit' and the new compositions of the national parliaments and the European Parliament. What also sets this book apart is that the EU has been woven into it, as a constitutional system per se and as an international organization which heavily impacts upon domestic constitutional law of its member-states.

This handbook is strong in building the relevant constitutional concepts and the constitutional structures, as well as illustrating them with examples and constitutional and political practice. It also provides readers in general and students of constitutional law with tools and basic questions to address constitutional issues and to evaluate the different constitutional models and features.

Constitutions Compared has proven its success as a helpful guide for students who are for the first time exploring comparative constitutional law, and for more advanced graduate-level courses it provides a solid foundation. It remains a thorough introduction which purports to give an overview, with many examples and applications in practice, with enough legal and practical details to be accessible and to the point, whilst at the same time providing the whole picture and highlighting general constitutional questions and perspectives.

The seventh edition of this widely utilized handbook provides a user-friendly and original and innovative introduction to comparative constitutional law, with specific reference to liberal democracies and states under the rule of law. For each area of constitutional law of such systems, a general introduction and a comparative overview is provided, followed by more detailed country chapters on that specific area. Though the book focusses extensively on selected countries, references to other states and their constitutional models have also been included for a general background and comparison. In this seventh edition, the author has expanded several chapters to provide more detail on national legal systems to offer constitutional comparison. The book has been updated to include constitutional events until April 2023. Constitutions Compared most notably includes many constitutional developments in the constitutional systems within our scope. That includes the new compositions of the national parliaments and the European Parliament and the new government coalitions. What also sets this book apart is that the EU has been woven into it, as a constitutional system per se and as an international organization which heavily impacts upon domestic constitutional law of its member-states. This has led to a new paragraph about basic aspects of international law, specifically to provide sufficient basis for the understanding of the relations between national constitutional law and international law. This handbook strengthens understanding of the relevant constitutional concepts and the constitutional structures, as well as illustrating them with recent examples and topical constitutional and political practice. It provides readers in general and students of constitutional law with tools and basic questions to address constitutional issues and to evaluate the different constitutional models and features. Constitutions Compared has proven its success as a helpful guide for students who are exploring comparative constitutional law for the first time. For more advanced graduate-level courses it provides a solid foundation. It remains, and is intended to be, a thorough introduction into constitutional law which purports to give an overview, with many examples and applications in practice, and with enough legal and practical details to be accessible and to the point. At the same time it provides the whole picture and highlights general constitutional questions and perspectives.

Comparative Constitutional Law Documents contains a compilation of constitutions and fundamental legislative instruments from five Western democracies: the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Furthermore, it provides the text of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the Treaty on European Union, and selected provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The documents reproduced in this compilation are rendered either in the original, authentic English, or in new translation under critical editorship.

Comparative Constitutional Law Documents allows students and interested readers to understand the peculiarities and similarities of different Western constitutional systems in direct comparison. The book is an ideal companion to Constitutions Compared (7th edition, the Hague: Eleven, 2023).

For this second edition, instruments contained in this legislation have been comprehensively reviewed and updated, incorporating important amendments and legislative developments, such as, among others, the incisive reform of German electoral law of 2023 and the Calling and Dissolution of Parliament Act 2022 in the United Kingdom.

Although we often think of law and the legal system as abstract things, they are not: law is people's work, made concrete and filled with life by those who draft, interpret, apply, and enforce it, and also by those who reflect on it and teach it. Therefore, how well Indonesia's legal system works, whether it succeeds in fully implementing the rule of law, and whether it brings justice to Indonesia's diverse people depends on its jurists, and thereby ultimately on the quality of its legal education. Therefore, it is important to ask how legal education can be further improved. How to better prepare law graduates for the labour markets of the future? How to enhance their legal and professional skill set? How to instill a sense of professional ethics in them? How to align legal curricula and teaching methods to the challenges of the 21st century?

This book offers reflections and concrete recommendations on many facets of legal education, both in general and in the specific context of Indonesia. It draws on the combined experience of Indonesian and international experts, including scholars and practitioners, but also administrators, coordinators, and planners. Designed to be both a source of inspiration and a resource for practical guidance, this volume is dedicated to all stakeholders in legal education in Indonesia.

Legal Education in the 21st Century - Indonesian and International Perspectives is a product of LEAP, a project under the Orange Knowledge Programme. The Orange Knowledge Programme is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and managed by Nuffic.

Upcoming: A new edition of this book will be published in September 2023. More information >

Comparative Constitutional Law Documents contains a selection of constitutions and fundamental legislative instruments from five Western democracies: the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Furthermore, it provides the text of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the Treaty on European Union, and selected provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The documents reproduced in this book are rendered either in the original authentic, English, or in new translation under critical editorship.

Comparative Constitutional Law Documents allows students and interested readers to understand the peculiarities and similarities of different Western constitutional systems in a direct comparison.

In this farewell speech on the occasion of his retirement as Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at Maastricht University, given in March 2022, Aalt Willem Heringa discusses the too often ignored role of courts as interpreters of statutes. The courts, by checking the (constitutional) quality of statutes, contribute to the rule of law and parliamentary democracy.

Independent courts may add to the confidence in a constitutional and parliamentary system as a whole, by being in a position to decide cases on contentious issues as an authoritative third branch of government. Moreover, courts can also make it visible to all that not only are citizens bound by the law, but that rules and fundamental principles also apply to politicians. Being subject to legal rules is not an indication of weakness, as politicians often want us to believe. On the contrary, it is an expression of strength: the strength of the safeguards for the proper functioning of our political system, which is embedded in the law.

Furthermore, Heringa puts forward proposals on how to embed this essential role and function of courts into the Dutch constitutional order. He also shows how courts are an essential feature that builds trust in the constitutional system, allows for the protection of individual rights and fundamental values and even leads to a strengthening of parliamentary democracy.