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Constitutional Rights and Democracy in the U.S.A.: The Issue ‐of Judicial Review
Author(s) -
MARTIN REX,
GRIFFIN STEPHEN M.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
ratio juris
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.344
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 1467-9337
pISSN - 0952-1917
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9337.1995.tb00207.x
Subject(s) - democracy , doctrine , harmony (color) , section (typography) , law , political science , judicial review , law and economics , constitutional economics , constitutional law , sociology , computer science , physics , optics , politics , operating system
. The first section takes up some main details of American constitutional history. At the end of that section and in section two, we concentrate on one constitutional doctrine in particular, judicial review. We argue that this doctrine rests, traditionally, on the foundational idea of a permanent tension between democratic institutions and basic rights. In section three, we deal with the problem just raised, by suggesting an alternative view of the relationship that exists between these fundamental constitutional elements. Here we attempt to show that there is an essential principled harmony between basic constitutional rights and democratic majority rule. And we try to locate judicial review within this alternative conception. Then in section four and in the conclusion we discuss the institutional arrangements for the practice of judicial review in the light of this alternative conception.