A critical account of Ius Constitutionale Commune in Latin America: An intellectual map of contemporary Latin American constitutionalism

Abstract

Ius Constitutionale Commune in Latin America (ICCAL) is an academic endeavour that attempts to provide an account of the original Latin American path of transformative constitutionalism, comprising elements from national, transnational and international legal orders, and where the law is placed at the service of the normative trinity of constitutionalism, namely the rule of law, democracy and human rights. In this regard, ICCAL speaks of an Inter-American law that represents a new legal phenomenon, in a region where constitutionalist ideas have allegedly claimed new traction. In this article, I develop two main critiques that can be deemed challenges for an academic project that is still ‘under construction’, and provide an intellectual map of Latin American constitutionalism that could address these critiques and serve as a roadmap for studying potential Latin American contributions to debates around global constitutionalism.

Le droit public comparé en Amérique latine

“…Cepen dant, ce courant fait l'objet de critiques. Non seule ment, la juris pru dence de la Cour inter amé ri caine des droits de l'homme, du fait de sa jeunesse, n'a pas encore permis le déve lop pe ment d'un socle suffi sam ment large de règles communes, mais surtout il tend à masquer les divergences en droit positif et en doctrine, au sein de la région 46 . Le droit public commun latino-américain n'existe donc pas encore, mais il est indé niable qu'il constitue un objectif que se sont fixés de nombreux comparatistes 47 .…”