Constitutional Adjudication in the European Legal Space

This chapter briefly discusses the current state of affairs of constitutional adjudication in Europe. It remarks on a recent evolution in the enterprise of comparing constitutional adjudication—that of a truly global discourse on constitutional courts. Moreover, comparing institutions of constitutional adjudication in Europe today is part of an even deeper project: building a united Europe, and with it the legal framework for a European legal space. The chapter also looks at how Europeanization has reshaped courts performing constitutional adjudication and continues to do so, before turning to the European Verfassungsgerichtsverbund and how many domestic judges stay in lasting and sometimes close contact with colleagues from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the Union/Member States dimension of the Verfassungsgerichtsverbund, but also with those of other Member States. In addition, the chapter talks about the traditional ‘European model’ of constitutional adjudication and the great plurality of constitutional adjudication within the European legal space. Finally, the chapter turns to the backlash against constitutional adjudication before offering some final remarks regarding the purpose of this volume.