Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to attempt to answer the
question whether the combination of liberal
constitutionalism and democracy is accidental, or whether it
is possible to observe an important connection between the
two elements. In the first part I discuss the so-called
democratic paradox resulting from the tension between the
principle of democratic self-determination and liberal
limitations connected with the rule of law and the guarantees
of the rights of an individual. Indeed, modern democracy is a mixed system consisting of democratic procedures
contained in the constitutional framework of the
representative system. Part two of the article deals with the
tension between radically understood democracy and
constitutionalism. From the point of view of democracy as
such, any – also constitutional – limitation of the democratic
will is seen as undemocratic. Is constitutionalism therefore
irreconcilable with democracy? In the third part I point to
such an understanding of constitutional liberalism as
emphasises the role of civil rights as constitutive elements
of the democratic system. In this approach, liberal
constitutionalism is a form of reinforcement of civic
subjectivity. Liberal constitutional rights are to facilitate
democratic participation and the protection of pluralism.
Thus, an affirmation of pluralism leads to perceiving liberal
constitutionalism as being closely related to democracy.
