
Available in Russian
Author: Andrey Medushevsky
Keywords: cognitive constitutionalism; constitutional justice; critical school of international law; false universalism; global constitutionalism dilemma; global law; human rights; legal asymmetry; post-liberal values; universal legal standards
The idea of the universal character of fundamental human rights and their protection became the cornerstone of international legal theory and practice after the end of the Second World War, opening the way to formation of universal standards of human rights and their implementation by transnational and national courts. This global legal order being formed was based on the rational presumption that Western liberal values could be gradually advanced beyond national borders in order to construct a new cosmopolitan post-national reality of international constitutionalism, thus averting violations of human rights by non-democratic political regimes. However, this idealistic vision has recently been put under question by the growing fragmentation and asymmetry of a multi-polar international order, powerful regional unions and states, and rising anti-globalist forces of a different ideological character. This intellectual trend, summarized as the critical school of international law, proposed an alternative vision of legal globalization and of human rights and their protection. The mainstream concept of global liberal constitutionalism was rejected as an oversimplification of the differentiated legal order, which is ruled not by common values but by very different competing interests. In this intellectual framework the “universal character” of human rights is nothing more than a form of “false universalism” – a new form of dominance by the global superpowers over developing countries in order to maintain the existing unfair system of international order and the inequality of the world’s regions, countries and minorities, which historically had no voice in these debates. The author summarizes the arguments of this critical wave of international debates on such issues as the legitimacy of international law, symmetry and fragmentation, regional strategies of adaptation to international standards, the place of so-called post-liberal values as alternatives to liberal ones, and possible new trajectories in international constitutional justice. In conclusion the author formulates a new dilemma for the universality principle — it could be realized only by reciprocal agreement of all global actors, but this consensus cannot be achieved in the current situation of deep cognitive dissonance. The solution of this problem is possible on the basis of cognitive constitutionalism as a new form of international dialogue about the global legal order.
About the author: Andrey Medushevsky – Doctor of Sciences (Philosophy), Tenured Professor, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia.
Citation: Medushevsky A. (2022) Naskol'ko universal'ny “universal'nye standarty” prav cheloveka: pereotsenka kriticheskoy shkoly mezhdunarodnogo prava [How universalized are “universal standards” of human rights: the critical school of international law reappraised]. Mezhdunarodnoe pravosudie, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 3–31. (In Russian).
References
Albert R., O’Brien D., Wheatle S. (eds.) (2020) The Oxford Handbook of Caribbean Constitutions, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Anghie A. (2004) Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Aydin C. (2007) The Politics of Anti-Westernism in Asia: Visions of World Order in Pan-Islamic and Pan-Asian Thought, New York: Columbia University Press.
Barkawi T. (2018) From Law to History: The Politics of War and Empire. Global Constitutionalism, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 315–329.
Bellamy R. (2007) Political Constitutionalism: A Republican Defense of the Constitutionality of Democracy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Belov M. (ed.) (2018) Global Constitutionalism and Its Challenges to Westphalian Constitutional Law, London: Hart.
Bhandari S. (2016) Global Constitutionalism and the Path of International Law: Transformation of Law and State in the Globalized World, Leiden: Brill-Nijhoff.
Bönnemann M., Jung L. (2015) Critical Legal Studies and Comparative Constitutional Law. Available at: https://www.rewi.hu-berlin.de/de/lf/ls/dnn/pub/oxcon_critical_legal_studies_and_comparative_constitutional_law.pdf (accessed: 05.02.2022).
Brunnée J. (2009) Climate Change, Global Environmental Justice and International Environmental Law. In: Ebbesson J., Okowa Ph. Environmental Law and Justice in Context, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 316–332.
Carducci M., Castillo Amaya L. P. (2016) Nature as “Grundnorm” of Global Constitutionalism: Contributions from the Global South. Revista Brasileira de Direito, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 154–165.
Carrai M. A. (2016) Global Constitutionalism and the Challenge of China’s Exceptionalism. In:
Coradetti C., Sartor G. (eds.) Global Constitutionalism without Global Democracy(?): EUI Working Paper LAW 2016/21, Badia Fiesolana: European University Institute, pp. 95–113.
Chimni B. S. (2008) Is There an Asian Approach to International Law: Questions, Theses, and Reflections. In: Chimni B. S., Masahiro M., Thio L.-A. (eds.) Asian Yearbook of International Law, vol. 14, Leiden: Brill-Nijhoff, pp. 247–264.
Choudhry S. (ed.) (2008) Constitutional Design for Divided Societies: Integration or Accommodation? New York: Oxford University Press.
Crawford C. et al. (eds.) (2018) Populism as a Common Challenge, Moscow: Political encyclopedia.
Daly T. G. (2017) Democratic Decay in “Keystone” Democracies: The Real Threat to Global Constitutionalism? I-CONnect. Available at: http://www.iconnectblog.com/2017/05/democratic-
decay-in-keystone-democracies-the-real-threat-to-global-constitutionalism-i-connect-column/(accessed: 05.02.2022).
Deplano R. (2013) Fragmentation and Constitutionalisation of International Law: A Theoretical Inquiry. European Journal of Legal Studies, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 85–114.
Diggelmann O. (2018) The Internationalists as Grand Narrative: Key Elements and Dilemmata. Global Constitutionalism, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 297–314.
Frosini J. O., Biagi F. (2014) Political and Constitutional Transitions in North Africa: Actors and Factors, London: Routledge.
Fruhstorfer A., Hein M. (eds.) (2016) Constitutional Politics in Central and Eastern Europe: From Post-Socialist Transition to the Reform of Political Systems, Berlin: Springer.
Gathii J. T. (2011) TWAIL: A Brief History of Its Origins, Its Decentralized Network, and a Tentative Bibliography. Trade, Law and Development, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 26–64.
Hathaway O. A., Shapiro S. J. (2017) The Internationalists: And Their Plan to Outlaw War, London: Allen Lane.
Jakubowski A., Wierczyńska K. (eds.) (2016) Fragmentation vs the Constitutionalisation of International Law: A Practical Inquiry, London: Routledge.
Paik J.-H., Lee S.-W., Tan K. Y. L. (eds.) (2012) Asian Approaches to International Law and the Legacy of Colonialism: The Law of the Sea, Territorial Disputes and International Dispute Settlement, London: Routledge.
Kibet E., Fombad Ch. (2017) Transformative Constitutionalism and the Adjudication of Constitutional Rights in Africa. African Human Rights Law Journal, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 340–366.
Kimijima A. (2011) Global Constitutionalism and Japan’s Constitutional Pacifism. Available at: http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/ir/isaru/assets/file/journal/23-3_03_Kimijima.pdf
(accessed: 05.02.2022).
Klabbers J., Peters A., Ulfstein G. (2009) The Constitutionalization of International Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Klug H. (2016) Towards a Sociology of Constitutional Transformation: Understanding South Africa’s Post-Apartheid Constitutional Order. University of Wisconsin Legal Studies Research Paper no. 1373. Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2729460 (accessed: 05.02.2022).
Koskenniemi M. (2006) From Apology to Utopia: The Structure of International Legal Argument, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kotzé L. J. (2012) Arguing Global Environmental Constitutionalism. Transnational Environmental Law, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 199–233.
Krisch N. (2010) Beyond Constitutionalism: The Pluralist Structure of Postnational Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kumar V. (2017) Towards a Constitutionalism of the Wretched. Völkerrechtsblog, 27 July. Available at: https://voelkerrechtsblog.org/towards-a-constitutionalism-of-the-wretched/ (accessed: 05.02.2022).
Kumm M., Lang A. F., Tully J., Wiener A. (2014) How Large Is the World of Global Constitutionalism? Global Constitutionalism, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 1–8.
Lang A. F., Wiener A. (2017) Handbook on Global Constitutionalism, Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Law D. S., Versteeg M. (2011) The Evolution and Ideology of Global Constitutionalism. California Law Review, vol. 99, no. 5, pp. 1163–1258.
Maldonado D. B. (ed.) (2013) Constitutionalism of the Global South: The Activist Tribunals of India, South Africa, and Colombia, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Manela E. (2007) The Wilsonian Moment: Self-Determination and the International Origins of Anticolonial Nationalism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mazower M. (2009) No Enchanted Palace: The End of Empire and the Ideological Origins of the United Nations, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Medushevsky A. N. (2021) Global Constitutionalism and Legal Fragmentation: The Populist Backslide in Central and Eastern Europe. Studia Iuridica Lublinensia, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 393–440.
Medushevsky A. (2018) Konstitutsionnaya retraditsionalizatsiya v Vostochnoy Evrope i Rossii [Constitutional re-traditionalization in Eastern Europe and Russia]. Sravnitel'noe konstitutsionnoe obozrenie, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 13–32.
Medushevsky A. (2018) Tendentsii postsovetskikh politicheskikh rezhimov v svete noveyshey volny konstitutsionnykh popravok [Trends in Post-Soviet political regimes in the light of the newest wave of constitutional amendments]. Obshchestvennye nauki i sovremennost', no. 2, pp. 49–66.
Medushevsky A. N. (2019) Konstitutsiya Interneta: ideya, proekty i perspektivy [Internet constitution: idea, projects and prospects]. Obshchestvennye nauki i sovremennost', no. 1, pp. 71–86.
Medushevsky A. N. (2020) Global'nyy konstitutsionalizm: integratsiya ili fragmentatsiya mezhdunarodnykh otnosheniy v usloviyakh ekonomicheskogo krizisa? [Global constitutionalism: integration or fragmentation of international relations in the context of the economic crisis?]. Voprosy teoreticheskoy ekonomiki, no. 3, pp. 96–115.
Medushevsky A. N. (2020) Konstitutsionnaya reforma – 2020 s pozitsiy teorii legitimnosti [Constitutional reform – 2020 from the standpoint of the theory of legitimacy]. Teoreticheskaya i prikladnaya yurisprudentsiya, no. 4, pp. 15–30.
Medushevsky A. N. (2020) Global'nyy konstitutsionalizm: pretsedent v transnatsional'noy pravovoy kommunikatsii [Global constitutionalism: a precedent in transnational legal communication]. Zakon, no. 1, pp. 98–108.
Medushevsky A. N. (ed.) (2022) Konstitutsionnyy Sud Rossii: osmyslenie opyta [The Constitutional Court of Russia: understanding the experience], Moscow: Center for constitutional studies, 2022.
Mutua M. W. (2000) What Is TWAIL? Proceedings of the American Society International Law Annual Meeting, vol. 94, pp. 31–38.
O’Donoghue A., Houghton R. (2018) A Manifesto for Feminist Global Constitutionalist Order. CLT, 1 August. Available at: http://criticallegalthinking.com/2018/08/01/a-manifesto-for-feminist-global-constitutionalist-order/ (accessed: 05.02.2022).
Okafor O. Ch. (2010) Critical Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL): Theory, Methodology, or Both? International Community Law Review, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 371–378.
Onuma Y. (2006) A Transcivilizational Perspective on Global Legal Order in the Twenty-first Century: A Way to Overcome West-centric and Judiciary-centric Deficits in International Legal Thoughts. International Community Law Review, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 29–63.
Pahuja S. (2011) Decolonising International Law: Development, Economic Growth and the Politics of Universality, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pedersen S. (2015) The Guardians: The League of Nations and the Crisis of Empire, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Piccone Т. (2016) Five Rising Democracies and the Fate of the International Liberal Order, New York: Brookings Institution Press.
Pigrau A., Borràs S., Cardesa-Salzmann A., Jaria i Manzano J. (2013) International Law and Ecological Debt: International Claims, Debates and Struggles for Environmental Justice:
EJOLT Report No. 11.
Ramina L. (2018) Framing the Concept of TWAIL: “Third World Approaches to International Law”. Revista Justiça do Direito, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 5–26.
Rawls J. (2008) Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Risse M. (2015) Taking up Space on Earth: Theorizing Territorial Rights, the Justification of States and Immigration from a Global Standpoint. Global Constitutionalism, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 81–113.
Schwöbel Ch. E. J. (2011) Global Constitutionalism in International Legal Perspective, Leiden; Boston, MA: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Ginsburg T., Simpser A. (2014) Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
Suami T., Peters A., Vanoverbeke D., Kumm M. (eds.) (2018) Global Constitutionalism from European and East Asian Perspectives, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Viellechner L. (2012) Constitutionalism as a Cipher: On the Convergence of Constitutionalist and Pluralist Approaches to the Globalization of Law. Goettingen Journal of International Law, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 599–623.
Xavier S. (2015) False Universalism of Global Governance Theories: Global Constitutionalism, Global Administrative Law, International Criminal Institutions and the Global South: Ph.D. Dissertation, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University.
Wenar L. (2007) Blood Oil: Tyrants, Violence, and the Rules that Run the World, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Westad O. A. (2011) The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.