Document Type : Article
Authors
1 Assistant Prof., Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
2 Ph.D. Student in Public Law, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The complex fabric of human social existence is woven with the notion of power, a force historically manifested through state governance across centuries. In recent decades, however, the governance landscape has undergone a profound transformation. Power now emanates not only from traditional states but also from the influential sway held by transnational corporations and platforms. Investigating power's legal dimensions, establishment, and regulation is a distinct pursuit within constitutional law. Constitutionalism has taken the spotlight, positioning the safeguarding of rights and freedoms at the intersection of public power. Once predominantly shaped by state-centric ideologies, constitutionalism now grapples with redefining power and acknowledging new custodians beyond conventional structures. This paradigm shift calls for replacing state-centric theories with a more comprehensive societal approach. societal constitutionalism posits that society comprises interconnected systems like the economy, politics, technology, and law, each with independent rules yet intrinsically linked to the broader environment. Within this framework, the traditional confines of constitutional law extend into the digital sphere. This research navigates the intersection of constitutional law and the digital realm, exploring the integration of digital actors without compromising constitutionalism's core tenets. The study revolves around the proposition of societal constitutionalism as a theoretical foundation compatible with governing digital actors, giving rise to a pioneering field termed digital constitutionalism.
Keywords
- societal constitutionalism
- digital constitutionalism
- constitutional pluralism
- digital governance
- state-centeredness.
Main Subjects
English
- A) Books
- Celeste, E. (2022). Digital Constitutionalism: The Role of Internet Bills of Rights. Taylor & Francis.
- Christodoulidis, E. (1998). Law and Reflexive Politics. Law and Philosophy Library Series, Springer Dordrecht.
- Lessig, L. (1999). Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. Basic Books.
- Pistor, K. (2019). The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality. Princeton, PUP.
- Sciulli, D. (1992). Theory of Societal Constitutionalism: Foundations of a Non-Marxist Critical Theory. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
- Teubner, G. (1988). Autopoietic Law: A New Approach to Law and Society. de Gruyter.
- Teubner, G. (2012). Constitutional Fragments: Societal Constitutionalism and Globalization. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
- Van Dijck, J., T. Poell & M. Waal (2023). The Platform Society: Public Values in a Connective World. New York, online, Oxford Academic, 2018, accessed 26 Sept; https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190889760.001.0001
- Vesting, T. (2018). Legal Theory. München-Oxford, Beck-Hart.
- B) Articles
- Balkin, J. M. (2018). Free Speech in the Algorithmic Society: Big Data, Private Governance, and New School Speech Regulation. Social Science Research Network, (51).
- Celeste, E. (2019). Digital constitutionalism: a new systematic theorization. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, (33).
- Celeste, E. (2019). Terms of Service and Bills of Rights: New Mechanisms of Constitutionalisation in the Social Media Environment?” International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 33(2), 122–138, https://doi.org/10.1080/13600869.2018.1475898
- Gill, L., D. Redeker, & U. Gasser (2015). Towards Digital Constitutionalism? Mapping Attempts to Craft an Internet Bill of Rights. Berkman Center Research Publication, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2687120
- Golia, A. & G. Teubner (2021). Societal Constitutionalism: Background, Theory, Debates. ICL - Vienna Journal of International Constitutional Law, (15).
- Golia, A. & G. Teubner (2023). Societal Constitutionalism in the Digital World: An Introduction. Digital Constitution: On the Transformative Potential of Societal Constitutionalism symposium: Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 30 (2), 1-24
- Johns, F. (2021). Governance by Data. Annual Review of Law and Social Science, (17).
- MacCormick, N. (2010) The Maastricht-Urteil: Sovereignty Now. European Law Journal, 1(3), https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0386.1995.tb00031.x
- Slaughter, A. (2001). In Memoriam: Abram Chayes. Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting, (95), 331–32, https://doi.org/10.1017/s027250370005730x
- Teubner, G. (1983). Substantive and Reflexive Elements in Modern Law. Law & Society Review, (17).
- Teubner, G. (2006). The Anonymous Matrix: Human Rights Violations by “Private” Transnational Actors. Modern Law Review, (69).
- Viljoen, S. (2022). A Relational Theory of Data Yale Law Journal, (131).
- Ward, I. (2001). Beyond Constitutionalism: The Search for a European Political Imagination. European Law Journal, 7(1), 24–40, https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0386.00117
- Wu, T. (2003). Network Neutrality, Broadband Discrimination. Journal of Telecommunications and High Technology Law, (2), https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.388863
- Yeung, K. (2017). Algorithmic Regulation: A Critical Interrogation. Regulation and Governance, (12).
- Zurn, M. (2001). On the Conceptualization of Post-national Politics: The Limits of Methodological Nationalism. In on Global Governance Workshop, Robert Schuman Centre, Florence.
- C) Articles Published in the Book
- Althusser, L. (1984). “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses (Notes Towards an Investigation),” In: Althusser, L. Essays on Ideology, London, Verso.
- Shaw, J. & A. Wiener (2000). “The Paradox of the ‘European Polity.” In: Cowles, M. and Smith, M. (Eds.), The State of the European Union: Risks, Reform, Resistance, and Revival, Oxford University Press.
- D) Documents
- “Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,” 2000/C364, Official Journal of the European Communities, 18 Dec. 2000.
- Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability in Content Moderation, 2018.
- E) Cases
- “Lloyd v. Google LLC”, Case ID: UKSC 2019/0213 (UK Supreme Court, 10 November 2021).
References In Persian:
- A) Books
- Jalali , M. & Yavari, A. (1400) .Introduction to constitutional Law. Mizan (in Persian).
- B) Articles
- Mahdavi, S. M. S., & Bagheri, D. (2019). Analysis and Critique of Luhmann’s System Theory. Critical Studies in Texts & Programs of Human Sciences, 19(10), 231-253. doi: 10.30465/crtls.2020.48 (in Persian).