Language and Legal Scholarship and the Constitutionalization of International Law

Roman Kwiecien, MAria Curie-Sklodowska University, has published International Constitutionalism, Language in Legal Discourse, and the Functions of International Law Scholarship. Here is the abstract.

The article addresses an issue of the role of language and legal scholarship within the ongoing debate on constitutionalisation of international law. The author argues that the lack of common legal language can call into question usefulness of international constitutionalism vocabulary for better understanding of legal changes in contemporary international society. In fact, scholars use different languages within the mentioned debate. There are within it two opposing ‘cohesive élites’, that is to say, two élites sharing different moral, political and social values, and different aims relating to the conduct of academic discourse. Consequently, the article seeks to point out some weaknesses of the constitutionalist approach, which can justify scepticism about constitutionalisation of international law conceived both as a legal process within international society and as a research agenda

Download the article from SSRN at the link.