Comparative Constitutional Law

Study:	International-Administrative - 5. semester
Code:	123677
ECTS:	5.0
Course coordinators:	prof. dr. sc. Biljana Kostadinov prof. dr. sc. Đorđe Gardašević izv. prof. dr. sc. Ana Horvat Vuković

Literature:

Branko Smerdel; Ustavno uređenje europske Hrvatske - II. izmijenjeno i dopunjeno izdanje; Narodne novine (2020), str. 3-61, 183-239
Biljana Kostadinov; Suvremeni francuski parlamentarizam; Pravni fakultet u Zagrebu (2004), str. 8-63
Biljana Kostadinov, Robert Podolnjak, Ana Horvat Vuković, Đorđe Gardašević; Poredbeno ustavno pravo - dioba vlasti, ur. Biljana Kostadinov; Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu (2022), str

Description:

The "Comparative Constitutional Law" course will enable students to familiarize themselves with, to understand and evaluate some of the most significant constitutional traditions and the theoretical systems of government predicated upon them, as well as assess their practical application in contemporary political systems such as the US and the European Union. The students should consequentially be made aware of the peculiarities that divide such constitutional systems, but also of the shared values, principles and institutes which connect them.

Topics include some of the following:

1. Basic principles and general issues of constitutional law. Object of comparative constitutional law. Methods of constitutional hermeneutics, especially the comparative method;
2. Functions of the constitution in a democratic society: the constitution as a political and legal act, constitutional governance and democracy, rule of law and the legal state, constitutionalism, characteristics of constitutional governance, the struggle for law;
3. Theory of constitutional governance and its development: school of natural law, social contract, the security-freedom dichotomy and justification of autocracy, theory of effective and accountable government;
4. The development of constitutionality worldwide: history of constitutionality, revolutionary 18th century constitutionality, establishing the constitutional order, constitutional moment and constitutional process, constitutional choice;
5. Overview of the great constitutional systems: the US Constitution, the UK's (material) constitution, development of constitutionality in France, development of constitutionality in Germany, constitutional transition of contemporary European states, the fall of communism and the democratic transition, constitutional governance and "good governance";
6. System of government: why the different systems of government, the problem of an effective and accountable government, constitutional models and accountability, bicameral parliaments, immunity of MPs, a fresh take on the division of power;
7. Compound states and unions of states: historical development of federalism, legal distinction between a federation, confederation and the EU, other forms of compound states, Bosnia and Herzegovina as a special form of a compound state, federal principle and perspectives of EU's development.

Cognitive Skills:

After successfully completing the course, the student will be able to:

1. Identify the basic characteristics of the parliamentary, presidential and semi-presidential system according to their respective constitutional setup of checks and balances;

2. Describe the elements of the structure and functioning of public admnistration (state administration, local self-government and public services) and analyse the public administration's position in society and in relation to the political system and constitutional framework;

3. Discuss the different systems of government, the means of diffusing the contemporary tendency of the executive branch to dominate the political system, and the corresponding position/status of the parliament;

4. Compare the forms of compound states (federation, confederation and the EU) and the degree of their effectuation of the federal principle.

Practical and Generic Skills:

After successfully completing the course, the student will be able to:

1. Show the constitutional institutions in a comparative legal perspective and in their relation to basic principles of constitutional governance in contemporary democracies;

2. Debate the actuality of federalist theory and federalist principle for the development of the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina;

3. Analyse the internal logic of creation and functioning of comparative constitutional models and political institutions;

4. Judge the importance of studying the various solutions offered by comparative constitutional law for understanding and/or perfecting individual institutes of Croatian constitutional law.

Consultations schedule:

izv. prof. dr. sc. Ana Horvat Vuković:
Office hours are held Mondays from 10:30, except during exam weeks and annual leave.

For students who work or are otherwise unable to make use of these office hours, alternative office hours are scheduled on an individual basis, including via Google Meet, Zoom, Teams and similar platforms.
Location: Trg Republike Hrvatske 3, room 10

Literature
Branko Smerdel; Ustavno uređenje europske Hrvatske - II. izmijenjeno i dopunjeno izdanje; Narodne novine (2020), str. 3-61, 183-239
Biljana Kostadinov; Suvremeni francuski parlamentarizam; Pravni fakultet u Zagrebu (2004), str. 8-63
Biljana Kostadinov, Robert Podolnjak, Ana Horvat Vuković, Đorđe Gardašević; Poredbeno ustavno pravo - dioba vlasti, ur. Biljana Kostadinov; Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu (2022), str