Konstytucjonalizmy niezachodnie jako wyzwanie dla komparatystki prawa
Non-Western constitutionalisms as a challenge for comparative legal studies

Summary/Abstract: The following paper picks up a few current questions that pertain to comparative legal studies. The paper departures from the thesis that the classical normative approach is too reductionist to properly deal with the constitutional law of non-Western countries repre- senting different legal cultures. Firstly, the paper discusses the status of comparative law, arguing that in fact, it is merely a research method, not a sub-branch of law. This enables the researcher to flexible apply such a method according to his or her paradigmatic prefer- ences. Secondly, it argues in favour of the thesis of the multifaceted nature of constitu- tionalism. In the case of the non-Western state, its contents is shaped by simultaneous pro- cesses of the absorption, modification, and rejection of the inherited colonial law system. Thirdly, the paper discusses two possible approaches that should overcome the heuristic weaknesses of normativism: the postpositivist paradigm of law, with its constructivist na- ture and subjective engagement, and closer to normativism political constitutionalism, which opens comparative legal studies for interdisciplinary. Both discussed approaches can bring a fresh look and intellectually fertile ground for studies of the legal plurality of the contemporary world.

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