ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the predominantly socio-legal aspects of the processes of building a constitutional order after the collapse of communism. It presents the characteristic features of the sociolegal context of post-communist constitutionalism. The chapter provides a broader analysis of the tensions and contradictions, the characteristics of “civil society” and “Europe” as the main ideas in shaping the constitutional orders in Central Europe. The peacefulness of the processes leading to the formation of new constitutional orders is characteristic not only of post-communist Europe round table agreements, but also pacts initiating democratic change in Spain and in South Africa, where “round tables” led to democratisation in some Latin American countries. In contrast, the interests of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe, apart from moral concerns, were concentrated on social welfare rights and services provided by the state.
