European University Institute Library

Proportionality and judicial activism, fundamental rights adjudication in Canada, Germany and South Africa, Niels Petersen

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Proportionality and judicial activism

bibliography

962230767

Niels Petersen

fundamental rights adjudication in Canada, Germany and South Africa

"The principle of proportionality is currently one of the most discussed topics in the field of comparative constitutional law. Many critics claim that courts use the proportionality test as an instrument of judicial self-empowerment. Proportionality and Judicial Activism tests this hypothesis empirically; it systematically and comparatively analyses the fundamental rights jurisprudence of the Canadian Supreme Court, the German Federal Constitutional Court and the South African Constitutional Court. The book shows that the proportionality test does give judges a considerable amount of discretion. However, this analytical openness does not necessarily lead to judicial activism. Instead, judges are faced with significant institutional constraints, as a result of which all three examined courts refrain from using proportionality for purposes of judicial activism"--, Provided by publisher