The Death of Constituent Power
Constitutional theory in democratic countries has traditionally postulated the existence of a sovereign people endowed with the authority to enact a constitution. An influential view going back to Sieyès claims that the constituent power of the people is legally unlimited. The ability of the people to enact a constitution is supposed to be fully disconnected from positive law. This notion, however, is seriously flawed. The idea that a legally omnipotent people, working its will at the constitutional stage, is the fountain of positive law makes no sense. Although the idea can be used rhetorically in some justificatory contexts to support valuable institutional arrangements, it also raises a number of pragmatic concerns. All things considered, our theoretical and political discussions would be more fruitful if we certified the death of that concept.
Full Citation
Victor Ferreres. "The Death of Constituent Power", in DECIPHERING THE GENOME OF CONSTITUTIONALISM, edited by Ran Hirschl & Yaniv Roznai (Cambridge University Press, 2024), 63-75.