Judicial Power: How Constitutional Courts Affect Political Transformations

Christine Landfried

Feb 2019 · Cambridge University Press

About this ebook

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.

About the author

Christine Landfried is Professor Emerita of Political Science at Hamburg University, and Senior Fellow at the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin. She was the Max Weber Professor in German and European Studies at New York University (NYU) from 2014 to 2016, and Senior Emile Noël Fellow at NYU School of Law. She received the Schader Award 2016 for innovative research. She investigates the political role of constitutional courts, the impact of campaign finance on democratic governance, and European integration. In her research on the European Union she explores the conditions that enhance the positive potential of cultural, economic, and political difference for democratic governance. She is the author of The Judicialization of Politics in Germany (1994), The Concept of Difference (2011), and Das politische Europa, 3rd edition (forthcoming 2019).