Principios, ponderación, y la separación entre derecho y moral. Sobre el neoconstitucionalismo y sus críticos

Luigi Ferrajoli’s essay Constitucionalismo principialista y constitucionalismo garantistarepresents a much-need theoretical and conceptual clarification of so-called neo-constitutionalism.In turn, in my contribution to the debate I will try to develop some reflections on three pointsof disagreement with Ferrajoli: his theoretical assessment of the distinction between rules andprinciples, his interpretation of the «balancing» technique, and his views on the relation betweenlaw and morality. Also, I will offer a reconstruction of the meaning of «neo-constitutionalism», andwill try to locate Ferrajoli’s theoretical stance within it.