Original scientific paper
LEGISLATIVE SUPREMACY AND JUDICIAL ACTIVISM IN THE USA
Petar Bačić
orcid.org/0000-0001-6991-8272
; Faculty of Law, University of Split, Split, Croatia
Abstract
The successive stages of development of constitutional democracy in the
USA, in particular the experience of “judicial supervision paradox”, show
us that the U.S. Supreme Court performed at least two different functions:
(1) norm enforcement, and (2) policy-making through re-examination and interpretation
of the Constitution and the laws in cases brought before the Court.
Dissent among American legal experts related to this and other matters prove
that debates on judicial activism are not a thing of the past. Still, both advocates
and critics of judicial activism share the view that judges have been an
important part of the American constitutional process since its inception. The
Marbury v. Madison case (1803) affirmed the institution of judicial supervision
and denoted a gradual shift of judicial power into the field of public
law. Thus further expansion and transformation of judicial power was made
possible. In this article, the author establishes a connection between judicial
activism and judicial supervision, and adheres to the standpoint that the “judicialising
aspect of modern liberalism” deserves as much attention as any other
aspect of democratisation.
Keywords
separation of powers; legislative supremacy; judicial activism
Hrčak ID:
50949
URI
Publication date:
12.3.2010.
Visits: 2.695 *