amendment; constitutional litigation, the interpretation of the constitution by
courts (or the constitutional court if such a court exists) and their exercise of the
power of review of legislation or governmental actions (this subject is sometimes
called ‘legal’ or ‘judicial’ constitutionalism^76 ); the making of major laws relating to
the implementation of the constitution; the exercise of powers by the legislature,
particularly how it scrutinises the work of the government and ensures the
accountability of the government (the operation of the legislature and the exercise
of its constitutional functions are of particular interest from the perspective of
‘political constitutionalism’^77 ); the use of the constitution and the institutions and
processes established by it in the resolution of major conflicts between opposing
political forces and in ensuring peaceful transfer or succession of power; and public
discourse, political activism and social struggles in the community which draw on
the concepts, principles and rights enshrined in the constitution or any part of its
text as resources to be used (these may be said to fall within the concept of ‘social
constitutionalism’
78
). The degree of activities or activism in the above domains
(‘degree of constitutional activism’, abbreviated as DCA) would indicate to what
extent the constitution is really ‘normative’ (in Loewenstein’s sense), to what
extent GC exists in the country concerned, to what extent there has been the
‘achievement of constitutionalism’ or to what extent there has been a movement
from HC or CC to GC.
The above discussion supplies a basic conceptual framework which may be used
for the study of constitutional and related political and legal phenomena in the
Asian countries covered by this book. In the next part of this chapter, I shall attempt
to provide an overview and general review of such Asian experience of constitutions
and constitutionalism from a historical and comparative perspective, using the
concepts of GC, CC, HC and DCA introduced above.
ii. the achievement of constitutionalism in asia
This book consists of country-based reviews of constitutional developments in
sixteen Asian countries or jurisdictions, focusing in particular on developments
since the beginning of the twenty-first century, together with three chapters
(including the presentChapter 1 ) which consider Asian constitutional trends more
generally. The country studies include all countries or jurisdictions in East Asia
(Japan, North and South Korea, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan,
(^76) See generally Richard Bellamy,Political Constitutionalism: A Republican Defence of the
Constitutionality of Democracy(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007 ), pp. 1 – 12 ;
Ramraj, ‘Constitutional tipping points’, at 193 – 5.
(^77) See Bellamy,Political Constitutionalism; Ramraj, ‘Constitutional tipping points’, at 195 – 7.
(^78) Ramraj, ‘Constitutional tipping points’, at 197 – 9. See also Ste ́phanie Balme and Michael
W. Dowdle (eds.),Building Constitutionalism in China(New York: Palgrave Macmillan,
2009 ), especially Chapter 1.