Juges Sans Frontières? A Glocal Theory of Constitutional Interpretation

This article presents a “glocal” method of comparative constitutional interpretation. In the debate on the judicial use of foreign ideas, transnationalists claim to propose a simultaneously global and local approach. However, they perpetuate the methodological nationalism of globalists and localists...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rodrigo Camarena González
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2025-02-01
Series:German Law Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2071832224000713/type/journal_article
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849728573236051968
author Rodrigo Camarena González
author_facet Rodrigo Camarena González
author_sort Rodrigo Camarena González
collection DOAJ
description This article presents a “glocal” method of comparative constitutional interpretation. In the debate on the judicial use of foreign ideas, transnationalists claim to propose a simultaneously global and local approach. However, they perpetuate the methodological nationalism of globalists and localists by assuming nations as their primary units of analysis. In contrast, this article advances a truly glocal theory of judicial interpretation. The glocal is the product of a constant interplay between the global and the local, from the inception of an idea to its practical judicial application. This approach follows a three-step process. First, it provides a multiscale toolkit to demonstrate that ideas may have never been purely national in the first place but are the result of plural hybridizations. Second, it uncovers the units that generate and disseminate constitutional knowledge: trans-territorial networks united by thematically shared beliefs rather than by nationality or a global mission. Third, it equips judges with the ability to glocalize or customize the idea, not as an exercise of national differentiation but as a strategy to make it epistemically familiar and more politically appealing to the network. In this way, the article critically engages with the debate on constitutional transplants, challenging its nationalist bias.
format Article
id doaj-art-b64a57f84c974a83a5f43feed3db858c
institution DOAJ
issn 2071-8322
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher Cambridge University Press
record_format Article
series German Law Journal
spelling doaj-art-b64a57f84c974a83a5f43feed3db858c2025-08-20T03:09:31ZengCambridge University PressGerman Law Journal2071-83222025-02-0126639310.1017/glj.2024.71Juges Sans Frontières? A Glocal Theory of Constitutional InterpretationRodrigo Camarena González0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6661-0176Associate Professor (profesor asociado de tiempo completo), Department of law, ITAM. Rio Hondo 1, Altavista, 01080, Department of Law, ITAM, Alvaro Obregón, Mexico CityThis article presents a “glocal” method of comparative constitutional interpretation. In the debate on the judicial use of foreign ideas, transnationalists claim to propose a simultaneously global and local approach. However, they perpetuate the methodological nationalism of globalists and localists by assuming nations as their primary units of analysis. In contrast, this article advances a truly glocal theory of judicial interpretation. The glocal is the product of a constant interplay between the global and the local, from the inception of an idea to its practical judicial application. This approach follows a three-step process. First, it provides a multiscale toolkit to demonstrate that ideas may have never been purely national in the first place but are the result of plural hybridizations. Second, it uncovers the units that generate and disseminate constitutional knowledge: trans-territorial networks united by thematically shared beliefs rather than by nationality or a global mission. Third, it equips judges with the ability to glocalize or customize the idea, not as an exercise of national differentiation but as a strategy to make it epistemically familiar and more politically appealing to the network. In this way, the article critically engages with the debate on constitutional transplants, challenging its nationalist bias.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2071832224000713/type/journal_articleGlocalizationForeign Constitutional IdeasTransplantsMigrationsBorrowings
spellingShingle Rodrigo Camarena González
Juges Sans Frontières? A Glocal Theory of Constitutional Interpretation
German Law Journal
Glocalization
Foreign Constitutional Ideas
Transplants
Migrations
Borrowings
title Juges Sans Frontières? A Glocal Theory of Constitutional Interpretation
title_full Juges Sans Frontières? A Glocal Theory of Constitutional Interpretation
title_fullStr Juges Sans Frontières? A Glocal Theory of Constitutional Interpretation
title_full_unstemmed Juges Sans Frontières? A Glocal Theory of Constitutional Interpretation
title_short Juges Sans Frontières? A Glocal Theory of Constitutional Interpretation
title_sort juges sans frontieres a glocal theory of constitutional interpretation
topic Glocalization
Foreign Constitutional Ideas
Transplants
Migrations
Borrowings
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2071832224000713/type/journal_article
work_keys_str_mv AT rodrigocamarenagonzalez jugessansfrontieresaglocaltheoryofconstitutionalinterpretation