The Legitimacy Crisis The Rule of Law and the European Constitution

Abstract

This project will explore the degree of conformity of the European Constitutional Treaty to different conceptions of the rule of law. The European Constitutional Treaty has proven an extremely divisive issue in Europe, so much so that it received a resounding rejection from The Netherlands and France in 2005. Though many explanations have been explored as to why the Constitution failed to receive a popular vote of confidence, the role of one of the most basic political principles, the rule of law, has been largely ignored.