Constitutional and national identity in the labyrinth of multi-level constitutionalism, APVV-25-0344

About the project

Constitutional and National Identity in the Labyrinth of Multilevel Constitutionalism, APVV-25-0344

Principal Investigator: prof. JUDr. Lívia Trellová, PhD.

Research Department: 050510 – Constitutional Law

Implementation: 2026 - 2029

The project responds to the current societal and constitutional debate on constitutional identity in the Slovak Republic following the adoption of Constitutional Act No. 255/2025 Coll., which introduced the concept of national identity into the Constitution of the Slovak Republic (Article 7(6) and (7)). This represents a new constitutional phenomenon that has not yet been systematically addressed in Slovak legal doctrine and which may fundamentally affect the interpretation of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, the relationship with EU law, and the fulfilment of the Slovak Republic’s international obligations. The aim of the project is to develop a comprehensive doctrinal and interpretative framework for the concepts of constitutional identity, national identity and European identity, and to analyse their mutual relationships within European constitutionalism. The project examines the content and effects of Article 7(6) and (7) of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic in relation to the integration clauses (Article 1(2), Article 7(2)), Article 4(2) TEU (national identity of the Member States), the values of the European Union under Article 2 TEU, as well as the international obligations of the Slovak Republic, including Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Particular emphasis is placed on the conflict of application preferences between the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (absolute primacy of EU law) and the constitutional courts of the Member States (relative primacy and identity/material core-based limits). The methodology is based on fundamental legal research methods (historical, analytical, synthetic, induction/deduction, comparative analysis and legal interpretation) and on a systematic analysis of the relevant case law of the CJEU, the ECtHR and selected constitutional courts. The expected outputs include publications indexed in WoS/Scopus, two scientific monographs, two peer-reviewed conference proceedings, as well as recommendations and proposals de constitutione ferenda for public authorities. The project will strengthen the transfer of knowledge into practice and teaching and will involve doctoral students in research and project management.