Judicial power: how constitutional courts affect political transformations

The power of national and transnational constitutional courts to issue binding rulings in interpreting the constitution or an international treaty has been endlessly discussed. What does it mean for democratic governance that non-elected judges influence politics and policies? The authors of Judicial Power - legal scholars, political scientists, and judges - take a fresh look at this problem. To date, research has concentrated on the legitimacy, or the effectiveness, or specific decision-making methods of constitutional courts. By contrast, the authors here explore the relationship among these three factors. This book presents the hypothesis that judicial review allows for a method of reflecting on social integration that differs from political methods, and, precisely because of the difference between judicial and political decision-making, strengthens democratic governance. This hypothesis is tested in case studies on the role of constitutional courts in political transformations, on the methods of these courts, and on transnational judicial interactions.

Judicial power and democracy / Martin M. Shapiro -- Judicial politics versus ordinary politics : is the constitutional judge caught in the middle? / Michel Rosenfeld -- Judicialization of politics or politicization of the courts in new democracies? / Mary L. Volcansek -- European judicial appointments reform : a neo-institutional approach / Mitchel Lasser -- The law of democracy and the European Court of Human Rights / Richard H. Pildes -- Constitutional court and politics : the Polish crisis / Lech Garlicki -- Democracy, political crisis, and constitutional jurisdiction : the leading role of the Brazilian Supreme Court / Luis̲ Roberto Barroso and Aline Osor̲io -- Judicial power and European integration : the case of Germany / Franz C. Mayer -- Fundamental rights in Europe after opinion 2/13 : the hidden promise of mutual trust / Timothy Roes and Bilyana Petkova -- Transnational judicial interactions and the diplomatization of judicial decision-making / Gertrude Lübbe-Wolff -- Judging methods of mediating conflicts : recognizing and accomodating differences in pluralist legal regimes / Judith Resnik -- On the representativeness of constitutional courts : how to strengthen the legiti…