Visions of Judicial Review: A Comparative Examination of Courts and Policy in Democracies [Paperback]

Brickers book looks at old questions in a new and novel context for which very little literature exists. . . Most of the findings are not very surprising to scholars of judicial politics, yet are much needed for validating existing theories beyond their primal scope. With its original data set, the book makes an important contribution that would be of interest to area studies specialists, comparativists and scholars interested in public law. Judicial review is increasingly prevalent in modern democratic government. Yet with unelected judges reviewing  and potentially overturning  the work of the peoples representatives, it also has long been, in Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes words, the gravest and most delicate task that courts undertake. '...provides new theoretical and empirical insight into comparative courts and judging, particularly in Central and Eastern European democracies. This book establishes a framework to consider the value of judicial review in modern democracy, grouping answers to this question into one of three main arguments, or visions for judicial review: legalist; rights-protecting; and majoritarian.Judicial review is increasingly prevalent in modern democratic government. Yet with unelected judges reviewing  and potentially overturning  the work of the peoples representatives, it also has long been, in Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes words, the gravest and most delicate task that courts undertake. This book establishes a framework to consider the value of judicial review in modern democracy, grouping answers to this question into one of three main arguments, or visions for judicial review: legalist; rights-protecting; and majoritarian. The strength of these visions is then tested with an original dataset of constitutional court outcomes from four European courts  Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Latvia  to determine whether any vision meets its promise. In fact, there is surprising support for the potentially majoritarilÃ%