Between February 2018 and January 2023, the German Research Foundation (DFG, #381589259) and the National Science Centre of Poland (NCN, #UMO-2016/23/G/HS4/04371) have funded a research project at the Universities of Hamburg and Warsaw with more than 450,000 Euros from the Beethoven 2 funding initiative.

The joint research project aimed to investigate the causes and consequences of the differently binding effects of national constitutions. While countries such as Denmark or Norway follow the rules laid out in their constitutions down to the last detail, studies have shown that other countries, such as Pakistan, Russia or Zimbabwe, implement only a few of their constitutional promises. The size of these so-called "de jure-de facto gaps" varies widely around the world and over time, yet little is known about them. The database and publications produced in the ECC-project and linked on this website have added to our understanding of the causes and consequences of constitutional compliance. The website will be continuously updated as new datasets and articles are published.