The long history of liberal multiculturalist theories grappling with the challenge posed by illiberal minorities – Parallel with the illiberal challenge in the European Union – Differences between the state/minority focus, the cultural/political considerations, the individual/systemic violations – Why these do not undermine the parallel – Propositions from multiculturalist theories to draw the line between toleration and legitimate interference – Severity, internal consensus, the exit option, and historical agreements – Forms of engagement to strengthen coherence, fairness, and solidarity

Homelessness as a violation of human rights – Criminalisation of homelessness – Insufficient international and European protection of the rights of homeless persons – American charters of the rights of homeless persons as a source of inspiration – Model European Homeless Bill of Rights – FEANTSA – Human rights instrument – Positive and negative rights of the homeless person – Right to exit homelessness – Right to carry out practices necessary to survival within the law – Adoption and implementation of the Charter by Human Rights Cities in Spain, Slovenia and Poland – Soft law – Perspectives for the protection of the rights of homeless persons

For a number of years there has been nothing at all unusual about the United Kingdom finding itself in a state of constitutional upheaval; indeed, for some time, this has been the UK constitution’s default setting. This has sometimes been as a result of long-anticipated and carefully planned reforms, such as the enactment, in the late 1990s, of legislation to give domestic effect to the European Convention on Human Rights and to introduce devolved systems of government in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In contrast, more recent upheaval is attributable to often unexpected reactions to often unexpected events. For example, legislation making substantial changes to the devolution scheme in Scotland – providing, among other things, for the constitutional permanence of the Scottish Parliament and Government – was enacted to implement panicked promises made by UK politicians in the dying days of the Scottish independence referendum campaign, at which point a vote in favour of independence seemed a distinct possibility. And then, needless to say, there is Brexit – about which it is almost impossible to be guilty of hyperbole when describing its constitutional implications, so numerous and potentially far-reaching are they.

Essence of fundamental rights – Article 52(1) of the Charter – Court of Justice of the EU – Methodology for determination of interference with essence – EU values – Proportionality – Balancing – Absolute and relative theory – Absolute rights – Interest theory of rights – Choice theory of rights – Hohfeld’s theory of rights – ‘Newtonian’ conception of rights – Case law on Article 52(1) of the Charter.

The judicial dialogue between national courts and the European Court of Justice as a cornerstone of European constitutionalism – The importance of understanding how place-based identities shape national judges’ willingness to apply EU law and enter into dialogue with the European Court of Justice through the preliminary reference procedure – An interdisciplinary approach for studying lawyers and judges’ legal consciousness and sense of place-attachment – Geospatial and interview evidence of how national lawyers and judges’ participation in the preliminary reference procedure is influenced by their attachment to particular court settings and cities – Consequences for European constitutionalism and future research on the uneven judicial protection of EU rights.