Ústavní soud ČR: strážce ústavy nad politikou nebo v politice? – Ondřejková Jana (2020)

Alexis de Tocqueville already observed in the example of the USA that in a democratic state, which builds its political and constitutional system on the principles of modern constitutionalism, there are few political questions that will not sooner or later become judicial questions. 180 years later, the 'judicialization' of political questions and politics is a phenomenon encountered throughout the Western world, including the Czech Republic, and it sometimes significantly influences the functioning of politics. This judicialization of political questions, or judicialization of politics, which arises, among other things, from the expansion of the modern constitutional model, profound changes in social behavior patterns, and the rise of neoliberal political philosophy in recent decades, is particularly evident in courts that conduct constitutional review, which primarily involves the review of the constitutionality of laws understood in modern constitutionalism as expressions of the general will and responding to general political and social issues. Courts conducting constitutional review are thus confronted with political questions – often those that are inherently controversial – essentially by definition. This has led to increased debate about what these courts mean for political and constitutional...