Governing with Judges Constitutional Politics in Europe

by Stone-Sweet, Alec

• ISBN13: 9780198297307
• ISBN10: 0198297300
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-03-23
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This is the first comparative study written by a social scientist on the topic of European constitutional courts and their role in protecting human rights and defending new democratic institutions. Focusing on France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the European Union, the author traces the enormous impact of these courts on both legislative and judicial processes and outcomes, and explains why this impact continues to expand.

Author Biography

Alec Stone Sweet is Official Fellow in Politics, Chair in Comparative Government, Nuffield College, Oxford University.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	xiii
List of Tables	xiii
Norms, Dispute Resolution, and Judicialization	1	(30)
Introduction	2	(1)
Rules, Dispute Resolution, Strategic Behaviour	3	(9)
The Construction of Judicial Power	12	(8)
Constitutionalism and Politics	20	(2)
Understanding Constitutional Politics	22	(8)
Constitutional Politics in Western Europe	30	(1)
Constitutional Adjudication and Parliamentary Democracy	31	(30)
The European Model of Constitutional Review	32	(6)
Constitutional Contracting	38	(11)
Parliamentary Government and Constitutional Review	49	(11)
Conclusion	60	(1)
Legislating	61	(31)
Constitutional Courts as Specialized Legislative Chambers	61	(12)
Law-makers as Constitutional Judges	73	(15)
Principal-Agent Issues	88	(2)
Conclusion	90	(2)
Protecting Rights	92	(35)
Rights, Normative Hierarchies, and Constitutional Decision-making	92	(10)
Parliament and Constitutional Adjudication	102	(12)
The Judiciary and Constitutional Adjudication	114	(11)
Conclusion	125	(2)
The Politics of Judging	127	(26)
Judging, Law-making, and Separation of Powers Doctrines	127	(6)
The Kelsenian Model	133	(6)
Constitutional Politics and Legitimacy	139	(11)
Conclusion	150	(3)
Constructing a Supranational Constitution	153	(41)
European Integration and Supranational Governance	153	(7)
The Constitutionalization of the European Community	160	(6)
The Constitutional Politics of Supremacy	166	(12)
Constitutional Politics as Legislative Politics	178	(15)
Conclusion	193	(1)
Theory of Constitutional Politics	194	(11)
The Judicialization of Law-making	194	(9)
Constitutional Decision-making and Governance	203	(2)
Bibliography	205	(3)
References	208	(15)
Index	223