Konrad Hesse’s Theory on the Normative Power of Constitutions

The article examines the evolution of constitutional law, noting that early constitutions such as the French Revolution of 1791 broke with the previous political order but did not create a truly normative constitutional system. Nineteenth‑century constitutions in Europe largely followed English customary practice, merely institutionalising the king and parliament while leaving substantive regulation to ordinary law, resulting in what the author calls a “material” constitution.

According to the thesis of Konrad Hesse, a constitution remains dead letter unless its provisions are effectively incorporated into human behaviour. The normative force of a constitution therefore depends on the real possibility of implementing its content, which in turn shapes political unity and the legal order of the state and its territory. The piece discusses how this perspective re‑positions the constitution from a mere organisational document to the supreme legal norm that distributes competencies and defines procedures for state action.