Abstract

The article addresses the linkages between the roots of European law and the foundations of constitutional law by comparing, in a diachronical perspective, several historical contexts which the author deems particularly relevant. The aim is to assess how consistently Public Law borrowed from Private Law and ultimately Roman law. Moreover, by examining the methods and the institutions of Public Law that are still essential thanks to the fact that they were transmitted by the Historical School of Jurisprudence, the article pinponts the substantial elements that are most important in a constitutional system, with specific reference to average and stable observation of rules and their consequent effectiveness. In conclusion, the Author frames constitutionalism in contemporary Europe, despite limiting the analysis to traditional concepts relevant at a State level.