Introduction

As Georges Burdeau famously observed, although nobody has ever seen the State, it is not something unheard of and in this sense is not a pure fiction. Similarly, a lawyer might point out that the reverse is also true: while the State may be considered a social reality, it is also a legal fiction - a legal entity vested with legal rights and obligations. Indeed, one might say that it is the challenge of translating the State's legal rights and obligations into a social reality what law - in particular international and constitutional law - is all about.[1] As legal ...