The Birth of Judicial Politics in France: The Constitutional Council in Comparative Perspective by Stone, Alec - 1992

New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. First edition. First printing [stated]. Hardcover. Very good in very good dust jacket. Signed by previous owner.. vi, 312 p. Illustrations. Notes. References. Index. The French Constitutional Council, a quasi-judicial body created at the dawn of the Fifth Republic, functioned in relative obscurity for almost two decades until its emergence in the 1980s as a pivotal actor in the French policymaking process. Alec Stone focuses on how this once docile institution, through its practice of constitutional review, has become a meaningfully autonomous actor in the French political system. After examining the formal prohibition against judicial review in France, Stone illustrates how politicians and the Council have collaborated over the course of the last decade, often unintentionally and in the service of contradictory agendas, to significantly enhance Council's power. While the Council came to function as a third house of Parliament, the legislative work of the government and Parliament was meaningfully "juridicized. " Through a discussion of broad theoretical issues, Stone then expands the scope of his analysis to the politics of constitutional review in Germany, Spain, and Austria. Contents: Introduction: Were Judicial Politics are Legislative Politics; Inventing Constitutional Review in France: The Historical Tension: Politics v. le droit; From Watchdog to Policymaker: Structure, Function, Mandate; From Watchdog to Policymaker: The Evolution of Constitutional Review; Understanding French Constitutional Politics; Policymaking in the Shadow of the Constitutional Council: The Juridicized Policymaking Process; The Council Legislates: Nationalization & Privitization Policy; The Council Legislates: In Search of Media Pluralism; The Third Chamber Model: A Review & Defense; Toward a Comparative Understanding of Judicial Review: West European Constitutional Courts in Comparative Perspective.