13 - Constitutional Resilience and Constitutional Failure in the Face of Crisis: The Greek Case

Summary

From the moment the global financial crisis broke out, the question of how constitutions respond to such crises has troubled constitutional scholars, especially in the countries most affected by it. ¹ Two issues are central: are constitutions impacted by the financial crisis, and do they play a role in addressing it?

Constitutional change has occurred if one of three criteria is met: (a) formal constitutional change ranging from total revisions to modifications and adjustments, (b) informal change brought about by novel judicial interpretations of the constitution or by political practice, and (c) changes in the functions of the constitution affecting constitutional normativity and constitutional faith. ² Among these, the detection of changes to the ‘small-c’ constitution through informal change is the most challenging. Tracking down such changes requires distinguishing between narratives of rule of law violation and genuine violations, and analysing jurisprudence in light of previous judicial doctrine.