Part II The Domestic Element, 12 The Block of Constitutionality as the Doctrinal Pivot of a Ius Commune

Many Latin American countries have attributed constitutional rank to international and inter-American human rights treaties through two basic ways: (1) by decision of the pouvoir constituant in the drafting of a new constitution or a constitutional amendment, or (2) through constitutional interpretation by the respective constitutional courts’ jurisprudence. This contribution explores the second path, with emphasis on the process of migration, adoption, and adaptation of the doctrine of the block of constitutionality in some Latin American countries. This doctrine reveals some common denominators in the region, but also several domestic developments and conceptualizations. It is argued that the difficulty in finding a unified concept lies in the different origins and routes of the migration process.