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8 Const. L. Rev. 15 (2015)
Rule of Law in the Development of Constitutional Law

handle is hein.journals/constulv8 and id is 15 raw text is: RAINER ARNtiD Prof Dr Dr h c University of Regensburg, Germany MU E aF AI IN TU DE VML PMFT CONST ITUTIOA LA, J 1. GLDUAIIAID AND COSIUINIITO Two major tendencies exist in contemporary law: globalization and constitutionalization. The worldwide interconnection of politics, economy, security, environmental protection, technology, etc. has contributed to the opening of the sovereign state; the State, formerly closed, is now opened, open statehood' is its new characteristic quality. Sovereignty has lost its effect of exclusiveness, has been es- sentially relativized and has nearly abandoned its genuine function. Law must respond to this phenomenon. Important steps have been made to internationalize internal law, in particular constitutional law. A signifi- cant example of internationalization is the order of the European Union, which is even of a supranational character2. State-like instruments and mechanisms are at the disposal of this multinational union, internal matters are europeanized in a far-reaching degree; this makes manifest the functional transition from the State to a multinational body. Constitutionalization is a second phenomenon of great importance visible in contemporary law develop- ment which has an internal, State-related and an external, international law-related dimension' The internal dimension of constitutionalization has various aspects: 1 See Karl-Peter, Sommermann, Offene Staatlichkeit: Deutschland, in: Armin von Bogdandy/Pedro Cruz Villal6n/Peter M. Hu- ber (eds.), Handbuch lus Publicum Europaeum, vol. 2: Offene Staatlichkeit - Wissenschaft vom Verfassungsrecht, Heidelberg 2008, pp. 3-35. 2 Determined by the basic decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the case Costa/ENEL 6/64, Rep. 1964, 1253. 3 See Rainer Arnold, The External Dimension of Rule of Law, Essays in Honour of Giuseppe DeVergottini, 2015 (in print).