Antonio Merlino‘s paper “The unwritten presuppositions of constitutional law and constitutional interpretation” deals with two controversial concepts in juridical science and jus-philosophical reflection: constitutional law and its interpretation. Both are in fact the object of a plurality of different and conflicting juridical theories and doctrines and assume different and contrasting conceptions of law. Notwithstanding this plurality of views, “constitutional law” is inextricably linked to its interpretation, since the application of a legal system requires its interpretation. Furthermore, the mentioned concepts are intimately connected with the theory of the separation of powers and, finally, with the concept of sovereignty itself. In this paper, it will be argued that constitutionalism cannot be deprived of a dialectical interpretative method.
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Pablo Picasso, Don Quixote (1955)