Why “Sustainable Constitutionalism: Answers for a Changing World”?

“Sustainable constitutionalism” has a double meaning. On the one hand, it refers to constitutionalism's potential to foster sustainable societies and democracies, particularly in addressing environmental challenges. On the other hand, it portrays the capacity of constitutionalism to maintain its core values related to human rights, the rule of law, and democracy, in the face of unprecedented social, economic, technological, political, philosophical and climate changes, as well as in contexts of armed conflict and their aftermath. Constitutional sustainability is a play on words that illustrates all these dynamics as it highlights a crisis of constitutionalism but, at the same time, highlights how it can be maintained, and how to make it resilient and able to coexist in “new ecosystems”.

Constitutional sustainability is a play on words that highlights a crisis of constitutionalism but, at the same time, highlights how this can be maintained, and how to make it resilient and able to coexist in “new ecosystems”.

“Answers for a changing world” refers to current and forthcoming crossroads in constitutionalism. On the one hand, the main values of constitutionalism (human rights, democracy and the rule of law) have spread globally. Convergences occur at many levels: between constitutional law and international law; between national and regional courts; and the collaboration of government and private actors in realising human rights.  On the other hand, the original idea of constitutionalism is not necessarily self-evident or absolute anymore. First, democracy has been challenged vehemently all over the world. Second, the role of the courts has been weakened by some authoritarian/populist governments, and some courts themselves have taken a more moderate role as defenders of the constitution. Last but not least, constitutionalism faces unprecedented challenges in the XXI century: climate change, epidemics, poverty, excessive concentration of wealth and economic power, armed and social conflicts, and artificial intelligence bring about serious threats to democracy, rule of law, human rights, and the very existence of human as well as non-human species. This shed light on the actual need for interdisciplinary answers to real threats.

We need to ask whether the constitution is part of the solution or part of the problem. It is time to explore the achievement and limits of constitutionalism outside the traditional sphere of constitutional studies. Multi- and interdisciplinary methodologies are essential to approach complicated and multifaceted questions of climate change, globalization and evolving technology (such as AI), among others. We should revisit and reconstruct basic concepts, ideas and theories of constitutionalism thoroughly and exhaustively (beyond the dichotomy of global South and North) through interdisciplinary dialogue and cooperation between constitutional studies and other academic studies to seek sustainable constitutionalism and answers for a changing world.

Academic institutions and professional organizations can support and incentivize interdisciplinary research collaborations between constitutional law scholars and practitioners across various disciplines, fostering innovation and cross-pollination of ideas.

We also need to reflect on methodological approaches to constitutional law, on the importance of facts, social actors, political situations, and markets, in constitutional interpretation, and the opportunity to reinforce (or criticize) alternative approaches to it such as legal ethnology and anthropology or legal geography. Dialogue, collaboration, and knowledge exchange among scholars, practitioners, and experts from diverse academic backgrounds, ultimately contribute to more holistic and effective approaches to addressing complex societal challenges through constitutional law.