Au cours de l’histoire constitutionnelle française, l’expression « pouvoir constituant » a toujours été ambivalente. Sous la plume des juristes et des théoriciens ou professée à la tribune des assemblées politiques, elle n’a cessé de désigner, indistinctement, l’organe constituant ou la fonction constituante. Si la diversité des situations offertes par le premier cas a été facilement et rapidement acceptée (exercice du pouvoir constituant par une assemblée, par une personne, par le corps électoral), le second a longtemps véhiculé une alternative passée sous silence entre la rédaction et la modification de la constitution. Malgré l’utilisation du vocable « pouvoir de révision » par Georges Burdeau en 1930 ou la distinction pérenne de Roger Bonnard entre un pouvoir constituant originaire et un pouvoir constituant dérivé, la vision unitaire de la fonction du pouvoir constituant s’est imposée jusqu’à nous. Cela étant, une autre acception de la fonction constituante, selon qu’elle instaure ou qu’elle modifie l’ordre juridique, permet une relecture de l’histoire constitutionnelle française, jamais entreprise sous cet angle. Celle où, d’une part, le « pouvoir constituant » est cantonné à, et ne désigne que, la fonction de fondation de l’ordre juridique, et où d’autre part, le « pouvoir de révision », prévu ou non par le texte constitutionnel, a pour fonction de protéger et d’améliorer la Constitution. / No abstract

"Essays on Social Conflict and Reform" consists of four essays that study the political economy of policy reform. Social Conflict with Passive Groups examines conflicts over the distribution of income where groups that engage in appropriative activities as well as groups that are passive in this respect participate. Democratization, Rent Seeking, and Economic Transition uses a model of social conflict to determine the political and economic reform space and the economic performance in a society undergoing a transition from authoritarian rule to democracy and market economy. Constitutional Constraints and Redistributive Activities analyzes the effects of constitutional constraints against redistribution on the outcome of social conflicts. The Break-up of the Ruble Zone: Undertaking Monetary Reform while Building Democratic Institutions applies the theoretical findings of this dissertation to explain differences in monetary reform between countries in the former Soviet Union. / SITE, Stockholm Institute of Transition

In this interview, the professor Tom Ginsburg addresses Comparative Law, the conditions for its study, its influence in capitalism, as well as his comparative studies over the constitutions, especially, of Latin American ones. He also addresses the conceptions that societies have about the relationship between Law and society, the moment of the creation of a Constitution, the factors involved in it and the perception of the judges and their decisions. / En la presente entrevista, el profesor Tom Ginsburg comenta acerca del Derecho Comparado, de las condiciones para su estudio, de su influencia en el capitalismo, así como sus estudios comparados sobre las constituciones, en especial, de las latinoamericanas. También comenta las concepciones que las sociedades tienen acerca de la relación entre el Derecho y la sociedad, el momento de la creación de una Constitución, los factores involucrados en ella y, sobre la percepción de los jueces y sus decisiones.

This article presents a comparative analysis of the development of the citizenship and theright to vote concepts during the XIX century, in Andean countries’ constitutions, specifically in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. In a particular way, the question about the inclusion of the indigenous people in Peru and Bolivia was medullary in the constituent discussions, and was resolved in many ways in both countries: in Bolivia, the debate fluctuated around many solutions until the imposition of the decree for the restriction of the right to vote just for literate people on the decade of 1840 (excluding the big indigenous majority), while in Peru, that restriction would not have been implemented until 1896.Debate processes and redefinitions have not existes in Ecuador: since the first constitution, it was established the requirement of knowing read and write to exercise citizenship. The differences between Ecuador and the other two cases is related with socioeconomic and political processes, specifically the regional conflicts that difficult the consolidation of a national unity, and the relation between indigenous and plantations since the beginning of the XIX century in Ecuador. More precisely, this article tries to situate the constitutional and legislative solutions in more wide political debates, as well as the social and economic changes that they have been generating. / Este artículo presenta un análisis comparado del desarrollo del concepto de ciudadanía y derecho al sufragio durante el siglo XIX, en las constituciones de los países de la región andina, concretamente, en Bolivia, Ecuador y Perú. De modo particular en Bolivia y Perú, la pregunta sobre la inclusión de los indígenas fue medular en los debates constituyentes, resolviéndose de diversa manera en ambos países: en Bolivia fluctuó en diversas soluciones, hasta decretarse la re- stricción del sufragio a los letrados en la década de 1840 (por tanto, a la gran mayoría indígena), mientras que en Perú ello no se daría sino hasta 1896.En Ecuador, no hubo un proceso de debates y redefiniciones: desde la primera Constitución se estableció el requisito de saber leer y escribir para ejercer la ciudadanía. Las diferencias con los otros dos casos tienen que ver con procesos de carácter socioeconómico y político, específicamente, los conflictos regionales que dificultaron la consolidación de la propia unidad nacional, y la relación entre indígenas y hacienda desde los inicios del siglo XIX en Ecuador. Precisamente, en este trabajo, buscamos situar las soluciones constitucionales y legislativas en los debates políticos más amplios, así como con los cambios sociales y económicos que se iban generando.

The main aim of this diploma thesis is to describe and explain a position of the king under the Constitutions of Melfi, issued by Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily Frederick II. of Hohenstaufen. Constitutions were issued in south Italian city Melfi in 1231 and till today it is one of the most important medieval legal monuments. Despite it's significance and connection with another Holy Roman Emperor and Czech king Charles IV. it has never been properly reflected in Czech legal history. Constitution of Melfi were valid and partially effective in the Kingdom of Sicily till 19. century. At the beginning of text, there is held a brief historical introduction into times of Hohenstaufen and life of the Emperor Frederick. Southern Italy was strongly influenced by Norman, Arabic and Byzantine impacts, reflected later in the Constitutions. Another point of the thesis is to describe the process of creation the legal text, involving influences of Roman, Byzantine or Norman law. There are also introduced glossators of Emperor's court, with their leader Petrus de Vinea, who is supposed to be the main author of Constitutions. But the main aim of thesis, above mentioned, is to describe and explain the regulations concerning position of the king and his powers, relating even the theology and philosophy of that...

"It is against this backdrop of unsatisfacotry enforcement of fundamental human rights enshrined in the Constitution that the role of human rights NGOs in Ethiopia should come to the fore. Thus, apart from monitoring violations and conducting legal awareness programs, there is a need for human rights NGOs in Ethiopia to engage in public interest litigation with a view to facilitating the judical enforcement of fundamental rights representing those who, for various reasons, can not access courts. A number of reasons could be provided to justify why the South African system has been chosen for a lesson to Ethiopia. One reason could be the legal framework put in place to address issues of acces to justice in South Africa. Standing is a crucial question in any venture of public interest litigation. Section 38(d) of the South African Constitution entitles anyone acting in the public interest to approach a competent court and seek remedies when they feel that a fundamental right is infringed or threatened. This very liberal approach to standing is not common in many legal systems. For countries like Ethiopia where there is an extremely tight requirement of standing to institute civil proceedings in courts, such a liberal approach could be an inspiration. In addition to the guarantees given by the Constitution, in South Africa there exists a relatively advanced and dynamic system of subsidiary legislation that could facilitate the full utilisation of the constitutionally recognised rights of access to justice. More relevant to this dissertation are the human rights NGOs in South Africa that are engaged in human rights lawyering in general and public interest litigation in particular. Much could be learnt from the experiences of prominent human rights NGOs such as the Legal Resources Centre and Lawyers for Human Rights. In all, Ethiopia, where the activities of human rights NGOs have not yet gone further than the monitoring of violations and fragmented attempts of awareness raising campaigns, could indeed draw lessons from the South African experience in this regard. ... The study has five chapters. The first chapter deals with introductory matters such as objective, methodology and literature survey. In the second chapter, a working definition of the concept of public interest litigation, the rationale behind it, issues such as access to justice and locus standi will be discussed. The third chapter is devoted to the analysis of public interest litigation as employed in different legal systems. With a view to providing a broad perspective to the practice the cases of France, the United States and Canada are presented. However, the chapter will focus more on the Indian and South African systems, mainly because of the nature of the problems public interest litigation addresses in the two countries. There will be a fourth chapter dedicated to the examination of the existing legal and institutional framework in Ethiopia in light of the background presented in the previous chapters. The fifth chapter deals with the conclusion and recommendations aimed at pointing out the major lessons to be drawn to introduce public interest litigation in Ethiopia." -- Introduction. / Prepared under the supervision of Professor JR de Ville at the Community Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2005. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Avant le rapatriement constitutionnel de 1982, existait-il une coutume constitutionnelle nécessitant l’accord unanime des provinces pour modifier la Constitution ? Après avoir analysé les éléments constitutifs permettant la reconnaissance d’une coutume en tant que source de droit au niveau international et dans les États de common law, l’auteur établit, dans une perspective historique, politique et juridique, les caractéristiques qui permettent d’utiliser cette norme juridique dans le contexte canadien. Bien que la coutume constitutionnelle n’ait pas été plaidée devant les tribunaux canadiens au moment du rapatriement, l’analyse des modifications constitutionnelles depuis la naissance de la fédération, à la lumière des éléments constitutifs de cette source de droit, permet de croire que l’accord unanime des provinces était nécessaire pour modifier la Constitution. Cette analyse s’avère encore plus crédible lorsqu’elle est confrontée à l’avis des juges majoritaires de la Cour suprême du Canada rendu à l’aube du rapatriement dans le Renvoi : Résolution pour modifier la Constitution. Quelque 30 ans plus tard, une question subsiste. Serait-il toujours possible de reconnaître cette coutume afin de préserver le caractère inclusif de la Constitution ainsi que le désir commun des provinces de contracter une union fédérale comme cela avait été établi en 1867 ? / Before the constitutional patriation in 1982, was there a constitutional custom requiring the unanimous assent of the provinces to amend the Constitution ? After analysing the constitutive elements that identify a custom as a source of law at the international level and in common law jurisdictions, the author establishes the features that allow this legal approach to be used in the Canadian context, from a historical, political and legal standpoint. Despite the fact that constitutional custom was not pleaded before the Canadian courts when the Constitution was patriated, an analysis of constitutional amendments since Confederation, in light of the constitutive elements of the legal rule, suggests that unanimous agreement from the provinces was necessary to amend the Constitution. This analysis gains even more credibility from the majority decision of the Supreme Court immediately prior to patriation in Re: Resolution to amend the Constitution. Some 30 years later, a question remains. Should it still be possible to recognize this custom to preserve the inclusive nature of the Constitution along with the shared desire of the provinces to contract a federal union, as established in 1867 ?

Le droit international intervient dans un contexte de multiplication des crises constitutionnelles auxquelles les mécanismes internes des gestion des crises, n'arrivent pas à trouver de solution. En effet, les constitutions étant directement la cause des crises que connaissent les États africains, elles se trouvent disqualifiées pour jouer leur rôle de règlement de ces crises et d'apaisement de la vie politique. L'intervention de la communauté internationale dans la gestion des crises constitutionnelles trouve ainsi sa justification. L'implication du droit international dans le règlement des crises constitutionnelles prend la forme une assistance constitutionnelle ou d'une assistance à la mise en œuvre du jeu démocratique. L'intervention du droit international dans le domaine constitutionnel, normalement une compétence réservé aux États, emporte des conséquences sur le contenu des constitutions. Celles-ci désormais, s'alignent sur les standards internationaux de démocratie, de pluralisme politique, d’État de droit et de protection des droits et des libertés fondamentales. L'internationalisation des constitutions en Afrique noire francophone, consécutive au règlement international des crises constitutionnelles, entraîne la formation de nouveaux rapports entre le droit international et le droit constitutionnel. Les constitutions deviennent protectrices des valeurs internationalement reconnues et universalisées, tandis que le droit international s'occupe de gérer non plus seulement les rapports interétatiques mais consacre des normes d'application intraétatique. On assiste ainsi à un renforcement mutuel des deux ordres juridiques. L'efficacité dans la durée du règlement international des crises constitutionnelles en Afrique reste toutefois à améliorer. En effet, les valeurs démocratiques ainsi imposées par le sommet, courent le risque de ne pas correspondre aux aspirations des peuples. Le règlement international se doit de s'appuyer sur les constitutions et de prendre en compte, l'ensemble des mécanismes et techniques institutionnels nationaux, voire traditionnels, de règlement des crises constitutionnelles dans les États d'Afrique noire francophone. / Constitutional law in French speaking African sub-Saharan countries is progressing under pressure from different elements. In fact, more than twenty years of practice of a new constitutionalism in these states, reveals many lacunas and failures that raised up on the continent, in almost every states, numerous constitutional crisis. Being the factor of these crisis, the constitutions have disqualified themselves to provide solution for the crisis. The intervention of the international community to settle these constitutional crisis, through international law is thus justified. The international settlement of constitutionnal crisis is a political mechanism by which the international community come to backup the constitutional practice in a state, in order to help solving the crisis. This intervention of international law in the area of competence reserved for the states, is based on the principle of the agreement of the legitimate public authorities of the state and it borrows some different forms, especially the constitutional assistance and the democratic assistance. As result, the international settlement of constitutional crisis led to an internationalization of the constitutions of the assisted states. The process of internationalization pass by the definition of the political regime of the states, particularly, the promotion of constitutional states and also by the proclamation and protection of individual rights. But the main question remain to determine the efficiency of the intervention of international law in the settlement of constitutional crisis. The practice of constitutional law in French speaking African sub-Saharan countries can take advantage on the international settlement of constitutionnal crisis, to be improved and become a source of national cohesion.

O objetivo dessa dissertação de Mestrado é examinar os poderes institucionais de controle da agenda legislativa dos Presidentes nas Constituições latino-americanas e analisar a importância das mudanças constitucionais determinantes para cada prerrogativa legislativa dos presidentes. A pesquisa empírica buscou entender a influência dessas mudanças para o relacionamento entre os poderes e para o processo legislativo. Os dados dos poderes institucionais abrangem uma amostra de 17 países em seus períodos democráticos entre 1945 e 2003. O trabalho adota uma perspectiva diacrônica de análise dos textos constitucionais. A análise é informada pelas hipóteses da literatura institucional acerca dos problemas enfrentados pelo presidencialismo, mais especificamente do conflito que seria inerente à separação institucional dos poderes Executivo e Legislativo e a supremacia dos presidentes com fortes poderes institucionais no processo decisório. Tal perspectiva procura enfatizar a importância das mudanças ocorridas no presidencialismo em diferentes períodos, isto é, o caráter dinâmico da estrutura institucional do presidencialismo, verificável pela análise das reformas constitucionais e a relação do contexto dessas mudanças com os presidentes legislativamente dominantes no processo legislativo. / The objective of the Master´s dissertation is to examine the institutional details of agenda setting in Latin American Constitutions and analyse the changes in constitutional provisions. Moreover, the study tries to understand the influence of those changes for the executive-legislative relations and for the legislative process. The changes in constitutional rules is the focus to reassess the commom assumptions of Latin American presidential regimes. I have studied the agenda setting institutions in 17 Latin American presidential countries since 1945 in their democratic periods. The enphasis are the constitutional provisions wich give power to Presidents. I argued that constitutional powers in presidential regimes are changing along the period, because of that the consequences for Executive-Legislative relations should not be derived from a static analyse of constitutional provisions. Accounting for the effects of political institutions and other factors, my findings suggest that demands for constitutional amendments make the executive-legislative relations a dynamic process of political changes.

Cette thèse, une édition traduite et commentée de deux livres de l’Histoire romaine (livres 52 et 53), s’insère dans un programme d’édition critique complète et moderne de cette œuvre. Dans ces livres, Cassius Dion, historien grec et sénateur romain sous les Sévères, s’appuie sur sa connaissance de la politique romaine pour décrire en termes institutionnels la transition entre République et Empire. Les questions institutionnelles l’intéressaient tout particulièrement et il avait accès à une documentation que négligent ou ignorent les sources parallèles : il nous livre souvent un point de vue inédit sur l’histoire de Rome. C’est particulièrement vrai dans les livres 52 et 53 : ces livres sont centrés sur le passage de la République au Principat et ils consacrent une large place à l’analyse de ce changement de régime et des mutations institutionnelles qu’il entraîne. À travers une série de discours probablement fictifs, placés dans la bouche des protagonistes de cette « révolution » (par exemple Auguste, Agrippa, Mécène), Dion met en place un vaste débat sur « le meilleur régime », qui puise à de multiples traditions : certaines sont bien connues et ont été étudiées, comme la tradition historiographique, qui commence avec Hérodote et que l’on retrouve ensuite dans les tragédies comme dans la philosophie. Mais la perspective historique et institutionnelle se double d’une perspective proprement littéraire : le travail de Dion se nourrit en effet aussi de deux traditions, celle du débat philosophique sur le meilleur régime politique et celle de la déclamation rhétorique. La présence de la tradition rhétorique a jusqu’à présent été ignorée dans les études sur Dion, voire méprisée, car elle contredit la vision moderne de l’histoire alors qu’elle correspond tout à fait aux normes antiques et à la conception des discours fictifs sur les bases de l’éloquence. À côté de notre travail d’établissement du texte et de traduction, nous proposons donc un commentaire qui s’articule autour de deux questions, plus liées qu’il n’a paru jusqu’alors : quelle est la valeur historique du témoignage de Dion sur les débuts du régime augustéen et dans quelle mesure les discours, généralement considérés comme des démonstrations d’éloquence, participent au projet historiographique de l’œuvre ? / This thesis is a translated edition of Books 52 and 53 of Cassius Dio’s Roman History with a commentary. The last French edition of Cassius Dio’s Roman History is now obsolete. Moreover there is no modern translation of this text. For a few years an up-to-date edition, with a translation, has been in progress, which includes our work. In Books 52 and 53, the author, a Greek historian and a Severian senator, describes the evolution of the Roman institutions between Republic and Principate. His analyses are based on his own political knowledge, his official duties and on his study of his Greek predecessors (such as Polybius or Dionysius of Halicarnassus). His point of view is most of the time original. In books 52 and 53, he focuses on the monarchic transition and the changes that affected the constitution and the institutions. The most important actors of the “revolution” (Augustus, Agrippa and Maecenas) are delivering probably fictive speeches that illustrate this change. There is also in these books an interesting literary work. Dio is to be considered as an heir of two traditions: the debate over the best constitution (as old as Herodotus at least) and the rhetoric declamation. Both of them are at work in the speeches of books 52 and 53. The well-known debate between Maecenas and Agrippa (Book 52) has thoroughly been studied but rarely in connection with the other speeches of the Augustan books. Besides, the literary part of these texts has been, most of the time, used to criticize them. This work lays stress on two (in our opinion) linked questions: how valuable is the historical testimony of Cassius Dio on this key period? And what do the speeches bring (besides the rhetorical display) to Dio’s historiographical project?