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How Power Is Arranged
Institutions

Constitutional Court

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A specialised court whose sole function is to rule on the constitutionality of laws and government acts, distinct from a country's ordinary court system. The model was designed chiefly by the legal theorist Hans Kelsen for Austria's 1920 constitution, and later spread to Germany, Italy, South Korea and many other countries as an alternative to judicial review by an ordinary supreme court.

Facts
Founded Year
1920 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Germany, Countries

This source names Germany directly: "1920 constitution, and later spread to Germany, Italy, South Korea and many other countries as an alternative to judicial review by an ordinary supreme court."

Italy, Countries

This source names Italy directly: "and later spread to Germany, Italy, South Korea and many other countries as an alternative to judicial review by an ordinary supreme court."

Founded By

Hans Kelsen, Political Figures

Kelsen was the principal drafter of Austria's 1920 constitution and designed its centralised constitutional court, a model of judicial review by one specialised tribunal rather than by ordinary courts, later adopted by Germany, Italy, Spain and many other states as the Kelsenian model.

Influenced By

Weimar Constitution, Documents

Weimar's collapse under its own emergency powers is the case West Germany's 1949 Basic Law drafters cited in creating the Federal Constitutional Court as a dedicated guardian of the constitution.

Sources
1. Hans Kelsen (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaView the Source
Weimar Constitution (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaInfluenced By: Weimar ConstitutionView the Source

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