The ‘Gänseliesel’ (Goose Girlis), a historical fountain erected in 1901, represents the most well-known landmark of the city of Goettingen.
 

Alfred Verdross as a Founding Father of International Constitutionalism?

Thomas Kleinlein

 

Abstract

Alfred Verdross was one of the first scholars who transferred a meaningful concept of constitution to international law. Like international constitutionalists today, he aimed at establishing the autonomy of international law vis-à-vis State sovereignty and State consent. With his theory of moderate monism, Verdross refers to a further issue raised by today's multilevel constitutionalism, i.e. the relationship between international and domestic law. In contrast to some modern approaches, Verdross's use of the term ‘constitution' in international law was only metaphorical. More ambitiously, international constitutionalism also serves as a kind of meta-theory for international law in the present debate.

 

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