Conceptualising State of Emergency, Constitutional Crisis Management and Their Rule-of-Law Requirements
Journal Article: Conceptualising State of Emergency, Constitutional Crisis Management and Their Rule-of-Law Requirements
Journal: European Journal of Risk Regulation - Special Issue on Constitutional Risk Management in the V4 Countries, Edited by Zoltán Szente & Fruzsina Gárdos-Orosz
Date of Publication: July 1, 2025
Author: Zoltán Szente, HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences, Budapest, Hungary; European University Institute, Fiesole, Italy. szente.zoltan@tk.hun-ren.hu
How to Cite: Szente, Zoltán (2025). Conceptualising State of Emergency, Constitutional Crisis Management and Their Rule-of-Law Requirements. European Journal of Risk Regulation, Cambridge University Press, First View, pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1017/err.2024.101
Abstract: One of the goals of this paper is to define the most important concepts for the comparative study of the constitutional risk management of the V4 countries. For this purpose, first, it considers the theoretical difficulties of conceptualising emergencies, especially focussing on what kind of response can be given to the widespread view that considers emergencies as a kind of legal “black hole” due to their unpredictability. Then a general definition of “emergency” is discussed which is broad and flexible enough to serve as a basis not only for a comparative study but also for the constitutional discourse of emergencies. Constitutional crisis management as a core concept for such an undertaking is also canvassed. After defining the basic concepts essential for evaluation and comparison, the article outlines the general types of emergency regulatory regimes. The development of effective regulatory systems for emergencies also has to face certain problems that every constitutional polity must solve. Finally, the paper summarises assessment criteria necessary for the evaluation and a comparison of the emergency constitutions of different countries.
The article can be found here, and in PDF form here.
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