ABSTRACT
Judicial activism reflects the way the courts use the opportunities provided by the cases brought before them to become involved in policy-making. This chapter examines the powers given to judiciaries to review legislation and administrative action. These are distinguished first as an abstract constitutional review under which the courts interpret the rules of the constitution itself. The chapter shows how the courts can be asked to rule on the legality of policy decisions under constitutional provisions, which make all areas of public policy open to judicial review. It explores how the courts test the constitutionality of the political process itself, affecting civil society, elections, parliamentary business and the composition of the executive. The chapter examines how governmental leaders have fought back against the expansion and politicization of judicial interventionism, and in so doing, pose a threat to judicial independence. The courts are thus likely to become heavily involved in politics the more controversial the proposals for amendment.
