In Russia, as the confrontation over the constitutional distribution of authority raged, Boris Yeltsin's economic program regularly wended its way in and out of the Constitutional Court until Yeltsin finally suspended that court in the aftermath of his clash with the hard-line parliament. In Europe, French and German legislators and executives now routinely alter desired policies in response to or in anticipation of the pronouncements of constitutional courts. In Latin America and Africa, courts are--or will be-- important participants in ongoing efforts to establish constitutional rules and policies protect new or fragile democracies from the threats of military intervention, ethnic conflict, and revolution. This global expansion of judicial power, or judicialization of politics is accompanied by an increasing domination of negotiating or decision making arenas by quasi- judicial procedures. For better or for worse, the judicialization of politics has become one of the most significant trends of the end of the millenium. In this book, political scientists, legal scholars, and judges around the world trace the intellectual origins of this trend, describe its occurence--or lack of occurence--in specific nations, analyze the circumstances and conditions that promote or retard judicialization, and evaluate the phenomenon from a variety of intellectual and ideological perspectives.

Political scientists and legal scholars of various ideological perspectives trace the intellectual origins of the trend toward the judicialization of politics and the increasing domination of decision- making arenas by quasi-judicial procedures, looking at conditions that promote or retard judicialization in specific countries including Western common-law democracies, European Romano-Germanic democracies, and rapidly changing nations such as Russia and Namibia. Contains papers from a June 1992 meeting, plus other papers. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Whether examining election outcomes, the legal status of terrorism suspects, or if (or how) people can be sentenced to death, a judge in a modern democracy assumes a role that raises some of the most contentious political issues of our day. But do judges even have a role beyond deciding the disputes before them under law? What are the criteria for judging the justices who write opinions for the United States Supreme Court or constitutional courts in other democracies? These are the questions that one of the world's foremost judges and legal theorists, Aharon Barak, poses in this book. In fluent prose, Barak sets forth a powerful vision of the role of the judge. He argues that this role comprises two central elements beyond dispute resolution: bridging the gap between the law and society, and protecting the constitution and democracy. The former involves balancing the need to adapt the law to social change against the need for stability; the latter, judges' ultimate accountability, not to public opinion or to politicians, but to the "internal morality" of democracy. Barak's vigorous support of "purposive interpretation" (interpreting legal texts--for example, statutes and constitutions--in light of their purpose) contrasts sharply with the influential "originalism" advocated by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. As he explores these questions, Barak also traces how supreme courts in major democracies have evolved since World War II, and he guides us through many of his own decisions to show how he has tried to put these principles into action, even under the burden of judging on terrorism.

Without understanding the legal culture of the judges a full understanding of Strasbourg's rulings seems hardly possible. Through interviews, field observations and case law analysis, this book fills this need and offers a fresh approach towards convergence in Europe.

This volume examines the role of courts as a channel for social transformation for excluded sectors of society in contemporary democracies, with a focus on social rights litigation in post-authoritarian regimes or contexts of fragile state presence.

The main aim of this volume is to analyse common issues arising from increasing judicial power in the context of different political and legal systems, including those in North America, Africa, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

This volume offers different perspectives on judicial practice in the European and American contexts, both arguably characterized in the last decades by the emergence of novel normative and even policy arguments by judges. The central question deserving the attention of the contributors concerns the degree in which judicial exercises in practical reasoning may amount to forms of judicial usurpation of the legislative function by courts. Since different views as to the nature and scope of legal reasoning lead to different degrees of tolerance regarding what should be admissible to courts, that same nature and scope is thoroughly debated. The main disciplinary approach is that of general jurisprudence, but the contributions take stock of other disciplines in which judicial activism has been addressed, namely positive theories of judicial behavior. Accordingly, the book also explores the development of interdisciplinary dialogue about the theme.

International law is a social construct crafted by human endeavour to achieve or at least contribute to the achievement of goals perceived to be valuable or necessary to effective social relations. In effect, international law is no more than a facilitative process and so cannot have answers and conclusions of its own other than what lies within the ambitions of those who define the limits of the process. The essays collected together here reveal how international law facilitates the achievement of the long standing ambition of turning human rights ideals and rhetoric into reality.

"This volume brings together some of the biggest names in European Studies to analyse the most important trajectories of Europe′s development and the challenges faced by the continent today. No one interested in Europe will be able to ignore this extraordinary collection of scholarship." - Professor Thomas Diez, University of Birmingham "In its range and comprehensiveness it will be hard to beat; and it will certainly become an invaluable resource for sociologists, political scientists, historians and all others seeking the best information and most up-to-the-date approaches to the study of Europe today." - Professor Krishan Kumar, University of Virginia "An impressive account of the state of the art of the study of contemporary Europe... This is an outstanding work and a definite companion to all those interested in contemporary Europe." - Journal of Contemporary European Studies Europe is one of the world′s oldest civilizations. But what does it mean to be European today? What place does Europe have in global affairs? How should we analyze its key institutions, system of governance and broader cultural, social and political dynamics? This exhaustive and timely handbook: Explores the transformations that characterize contemporary Europe Investigates how we can best study Europe Consolidates European studies and provides a platform for future study Increases the profile of European studies. The Handbookpromotes the increasing diversity of perspectives employed in the study of contemporary Europe and EU integration and is situated within the context of Europe′s transformations. It offers balanced coverage of political, social, economic, cultural and institutional dimensions of Europe, and includes chapters by leading authorities including Ulrich Beck, Craigh Calhoun, Donatella della Porta, Claus Offe, Anssi Paasi, Ben Rosamond, Gurminder Bhambra and Charles Tilly. Multidisciplinary in organization, inclusive in coverage and cutting-edge in scope, The SAGE Handbook of European Studies is a landmark resource for anyone interested in Europe.

Explores the relationship between the legitimacy, the efficacy, and the decision-making of national and transnational constitutional courts.