Stato, Unione europea e lex mercatoria

The contemporary state is constantly subjected to a series of influences from external factors (phenomena linked to "internationalisation" and "globalisation" of the economy), which encourage forms of "self-regulation" that come to exist alongside the classical models of discipline and are often prepared by market forces. The aim of this book is to offer some elements of reflection on the issue through a constitutional perspective. This in turn seeks to analyse the effectiveness recognised by the current democratic-pluralist state to a particularly significant example of transnational production of law - identified under the term "new lex mercatoria" - by verification of all those factors which make the entrance in the state legal order of its sources of law possible. The analysis is conducted taking as a reference the Italian legal system and is completed with the analysis of the openings of the European system to such forms of legal production. The need to understand as a source that "spontaneously" comes to life has to be considered within a legal system and in relation to other sources is, indeed, a problem that has been presented in all forms that the state took historically. For this reason, the study begins with a historical investigation carried out mainly on the effectiveness that various forms of states have afforded to customary law. The chosen perspective is justified by the fact that the State remains the main point of contact for individuals, or the political entity to which citizenship continues to be "anchored", even in the context of globalisation.