The case of Chinese constitutional polity with Chinese characteristics: can China and Eritrea dialogue?

Abstract

This paper subsumes the mysticism of Chinese law by distinguishing it from other bodies of law, while also rendering it transcendental in the contemporary universal legal context. It is also an attempt to romanticize Chinese constitutional law, as afertile ground that can be used to re-thread the fabric of Eritrean constitutional order. The root of this research is nournished by an extravagance of ideas and desires, which if applied can make the ubiquity and plasticity of the rule of law flow across what is perceived to be “unyielding” borders. Eritrea has just turned twenty-five and despite a tangled post-independence period, the country has been successful in articulating and advancing the vision of the pre-independence generation. Today, Eritrea envisages rejuvenating its governance with a new constitution that not only talks to post-independence Eritreans, but also triggers sustainable development with substantive emphasis on the rule of law. Eritrean endeavours can easily open up to the seductive appeal of the rich conceptual enigma of Chinese constitutional polity, China being one of the countries with the oldest legal traditions in the world. It is axiomatic that Chinese constitution-centred governance, which is well adorned with Chinese characteristics, is pre-eminent, for it has influenced China since 1949 to aptly rise as the world’s second largest economy. This paper illustrates that Eritrean constitutional polity can be examined through a Chinese lens, to be calibrated in such a way as to exhibit Eritrean characteristics, and still govern by the rule of law.