How written and unwritten constitutions differ and the role of judicial review across different government systems.
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- What is a written constitution?
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A codified, formal fundamental law established at a specific moment and recorded in a single authoritative document.- What is an unwritten constitution?
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A body of fundamental law based on statutes, court decisions, customs, and constitutional conventions rather than a single codified document.- Give an example of a written constitution.
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United States Constitution (1787), French Constitution, German Constitution (Basic Law).- Give an example of an unwritten constitution.
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United Kingdom, Canada (prior to 1982), Israel.- What does entrenchment mean in constitutional law?
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Special legal procedures required to amend certain constitutional provisions, making them more difficult to change than ordinary laws.- Define judicial review.
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The power of courts to assess the constitutionality of laws, executive actions, and government decisions, and to strike down those found unconstitutional.- Which case established judicial review in the United States?
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Marbury v. Madison (1803), in which Chief Justice John Marshall asserted the Supreme Court's power to review laws.- What is a constitutional court?
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A specialized court established specifically to review constitutional matters and the constitutionality of laws.- What is diffuse judicial review?
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A system in which any court has the power to review the constitutionality of laws in cases before it.- What is concentrated judicial review?
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A system in which only a specialized constitutional court has the power to review the constitutionality of laws.- Which country uses concentrated judicial review?
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Germany (Federal Constitutional Court), France (Constitutional Council), Spain, and Italy.- Which country uses diffuse judicial review?
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United States, Canada, Australia.- What is abstract judicial review?
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Judicial review of a law's constitutionality before it is applied or without a concrete case or dispute.- What is concrete judicial review?
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Judicial review triggered by an actual legal dispute or case brought before the courts.- Define parliamentary sovereignty.
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The principle that the parliament or legislature is the supreme authority in the political system and cannot be limited by other branches.
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