1. According to Esmein, the eighteenth century concept of constitution as a fundamental and systematic written law is based on three ideas: (1) the superiority of a written law; (2) the new constitution is deemed a renewal of the social contract; (3) the systematic presentation of a constitutional document provides an excellent means of political education. See Adhémar Esmein,Eléments de droit constitutionnel français et comparé(Sirey, 8th edn 1927) 603–4.
2. See Ralf Dahrendorf,Reflections on the Revolution in Europe(Chatto and Windus, 1990) 3. Cited in Go (n 3) 111.
3. See Jan-Erik Lane,Constitutions and Political Theory(Manchester University Press, 1996) 135.