The Prospective Role of Constitutional Courts in the Advisory Opinion Mechanism

In the article it is argued that, on the one hand, and also in the light of the experience accrued within other supranational systems, Protocol No. 16 to the European Convention on Human Rights could represent a challenge for Constitutional Courts’ autonomy when dealing with constitutional review of legislation. On the other hand, the effective enforcement of the new mechanism largely relies on the attitude that will be shown by national courts, first of all by constitutional judges, as well as the ECtHR itself in using this device. In other words, the degree of engagement in the European judicial conversation depends primarily on national Constitutional Courts and on the extent to which they see themselves as “agents” shaping European constitutional space.