Judicial Review of Ordinary Laws and Constitutional Amendments: A Comparative study

Abstract

Judicial review is the essence of rule of law and supremacy of law in democratic countries. It is an important tool in the hands of the judiciary. Judicial review allows courts to review laws, whether made by the Parliament, executive, judiciary or otherwise. If there are laws that contradict the constitution, then they can be struck down as unconstitutional or held ultra-vires. The basis of the principle of Judicial review lies in the fact that in case of a conflict between the constitution i.e. the law of the land and any other law, the judiciary will choose the constitution and thus uphold its supremacy.