Title: Globalisation, multilevel governance and democratic principle

Authors: George Katrougalos

Addresses: Democritus University, P. Ioakeim 30-32, Athens 10675, Greece

Abstract: Globalisation entails a dispersion of competences away from the state in both vertical (transfer of sovereign functions) and horizontal directions (involvement of private actors). Thus, the traditional Kelsenian legal universe is gradually transformed to a non-Euclidean 'multiverse' system where traditional constitutionalism is evolving to 'multilevel constitutionalism'. This term defines the progressive establishment of a supranational level of public authority based on constitutions and norms of international law, such as the European Community Law or the European Convention on Human Rights. In this framework, national and supranational constitutional authorities can be understood as complementary elements in a dynamic system. This new space creates its own administrative law, setting new questions and problems regarding the democratic character and legitimacy of its norms. The paper examines the possibilities for democratisation of transnational institutions beyond the state.

Keywords: democracy; human rights; globalisation; transnational governance; multilevel constitutionalism; multilevel governance; democratic principle; transnational institutions; supranational public authorities; international law.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2013.055629

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2013 Vol.1 No.2, pp.153 - 161

Received: 09 Nov 2012
Accepted: 09 Nov 2012
Published online: 31 Mar 2014 *

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