修宪权的隐含界限问题——美国宪法学理论关于宪法修改界限的争论

在美国宪法理论上,一个久有争论的问题是:对于修宪权而言,除了宪法明确规定的限制外,是否还存在着其他的“隐含”限制?围绕着这个问题的争论,无论在美国宪法理论界还是在宪政实践中,都异常激烈。本文对美国宪法理论界有关修宪权隐含界限问题的争论做了初步阐述。

The U.S. Constitution is the first written constitutional law in the world that explicitly provides for the limits upon the amending power. A long standing and heated dispute in American Constitutional law theory and practice is that, apart from the limitations specified in the Constitution, is there any implied limitation on the amending power？ This article is a preliminary study on this controversial issue.