Măriuca-Oana CONSTANTIN

Academic Year:
2019/2020

Field of Study:
Political Science
Law
European Studies

Research Program:
NEC Haret

Affiliation: National University of Political Science and Public Administration, Bucharest

Position: Associate lecturer

Country:
Romania

Research project: Justice and Cultural Identity in Europe: An Analysis of Multicultural Jurisprudence and Cultural Defense Claims

Is Europe equipped with the proper legal instruments and legal concepts to address its increasing cultural diversity? I look for answers in the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and in the jurisprudence of EU member states. When relevant, I include cases from the European Court of Human Rights. The research focuses on cultural identity defenses and national identity claims across Europe, and how their interplay reconfigures the protection of both minority and majority rights (when the latter allege to be vulnerable). The study aims to look into: the cultural defenses raised in litigation by minority members and the cases where states use constitutional identity arguments mirroring majority culture in front of supranational courts. The research explores: (1) how Europe copes at judicial level (beyond policies) with both illiberal member states and illiberal minorities; (2) if liberal principles have the same interpretative role in relation to minority and majority culture, and (3) what values of shared European identity emerge from multicultural jurisprudence. This attempt requires a multidisciplinary approach (focusing primarily on law and moral philosophy).