The European model of constitutional review of legislation: Toward decentralization?

constitutions. Typically, such constitutional courts review legislation in the abstract, with no connection to an actual controversy. This is in contrast to the "American" model, whereby all courts have the authority to adjudicate consti- tutional issues in the course of deciding legal cases and controversies. 1 The centralized model of constitutional review was born in Europe after World War I. Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1920, Liechtenstein in 1921, and Spain in 1931, were the first countries to adopt it. Hans Kelsen was the scholar who did the most to develop and popularize this model and defend it against the American alternative. 2 After World War II, the centralized model expanded to other countries; today it is the prevailing model in Europe, particularly among the member states of the European Union.