Constitutional History: Some Methodogical Reflections
| Autor | Joaquín Varela Suanzes-Carpegna |
| Cargo | Universidad de Oviedo |
| Páginas | 529-541 |
Historia Constitucional, n. 15, 2014. http://www.historiaconstitucional.com, págs. 529-541
CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY: SOME
METHODOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS
Joaquin Varela Suanzes-Carpegna
Universidad de Oviedo
SUMMARY: I. TWO PERSPECTIVES OF CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY: THE
LEGAL-INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE AND THE DOCTRINAL
PERSPECTIVE.- II. LAWS AND CONSTITUTIONAL INSTITUTIONS: TEXT
AND CONTEXT, PERMANENCE AND CHANGE.- III. DOCTRINES AND
CONSTITUTIONAL CONCEPTS: THEIR LEGAL CONTENT.- IV. THE
INTERPRETATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL DOCTRINES AND CONCEPTS:
PRESENTISM AND ADANISM.
Abstract: In this article Constitutional History is defined as a branch of History
with a clearly legal content, which explores the origin and development of the
Liberal and Democratic-Liberal State, using an axiological concept of
Constitution. Based on this definition, the study addresses some of the
problems inherent in the historical study of laws and institutions, particularly with
respect to doctrines and constitutional concepts. It should be stressed that an
interpretation of past doctrines and concepts from a present-day perspective is
not required, although the categories defined by constitutional theory must be
taken into account. With the above-mentioned objective, the study draws from
examples of comparative constitutional history; a field which the author has
been studying for the last 35 years.
Key Words: concept, method, sources, constitutional history
A good starting point is the premise that Constitutional History is a highly
specialised historical discipline, largely developed sub specie iuris. It
contemplates the genesis and development of the constitution of the liberal and
liberal-democratic State, regardless of the form that the Constitution adopts or
its position within the legal system, even though its form and position may be
extremely pertinent to Constitutional history, as we will see further on.
This substantive and axiological concept of Constitution should, in my view,
be considered in order to determine the object of Constitutional History and to
define the temporal and spatial boundaries of constitutionalism as a historic
phenomenon designed to limit the State to serving individual rights. The origin
of this concept can be traced back to seventeenth-century England.
However, this article does not seek to analyse this concept of Constitution in
great depth. It is implicitly covered in Article 16 of the French “Déclaration des
Droits” of 1789 and is explicitly addressed by the German doctrine when,
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