4.2 Constituent Power, Constitutional Power and the European 'Body Politic' [CPCP]
Beyond State-Centric Law and Legal Doctrine. New Actors and Determinants.
Key words: Merleau-Ponty; polis; reflexivity; constituent power; institution
Traditionally, constituent power and constituted power are seen as strictly separate concepts. Democratic theory teaches that the sovereign people is and remains the constituent power, to which the constituted powers (legislative, executive and judiciary) are subordinate. Taking its cue from some previous publications by Van Roermund, this project questions this proposition. Starting from Merleau-Ponty's theory of expression (parole parlante - parole parlée) the possibility of a different relationship between constituent and constituted power and its consequences for the legal and political constitution of European identity are examined.
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