Shadows across the Path 457and also to deal with abuses of powers and rights. Constitutionalism is
therefore a program of eternal vigilance, in which principles of separation of
powers and judicial review of government actions play a central role—
concepts clearly borrowed from national constitutions. Th e goal is to ensure
the compatibility of the various subsystems with one another, and with the
overarching values of the community at large. Th ese include such concerns
as democracy, protection of human rights and the environment, and the
reduction of poverty and in e qual ity.
Th e general spirit of the New Haven School is palpable in all of this. Con-
stitutionalism also resembles the New Haven School in possessing some-
thing of a managerial or bureaucratic aura. Its natural milieu is the func-
tioning of international organizations— in which trained managers bring
rational order to various walks of international life, on the basis of the
constitutional instruments. Th e staff s of these organizations could be seen
as the dutiful and watchful custodians of general global interests. Th e orga-
nizations, in turn, would be subject to an overarching set of values to en-
sure that their operations would be compatible with one another. Constitu-
tionalism is therefore a natural, in- house doctrine for international civil
servants.
Like the New Haven School before it, constitutionalism is open to the
criticism of being excessively academic, with little to show in the way of ac-
tual eff ects on international law as it operates in the real world. Th ere have
been some doubts, for example, as to whether the feared fragmentation of
international law really poses such a grave threat. Th e International Law
Commission undertook a study of the subject and concluded, in 2006, that
there was not really much of a problem. Traditional legal methods, such as
the normal rules of treaty interpretation, are suffi cient (at least for the pres-
ent) to deal with potential confl icts between legal regimes or subsystems.
More specifi cally, the study concluded that, even for such problems as did
arise in this area, “no homogenous, hierarchical meta- system is realistically
available” to deal with them.
It may be that constitutionalism— yet again like the New Haven School— is
best seen as a general reform program not closely tied to specifi c events in
the real world. Th at may detract from its practical utility, but it may also
ensure it a long life in the groves of academe, where a highly intellectual ap-
proach, combined with a strong commitment to liberal values, will oft en