Judicial review in comparative law /

An important contribution to the field of comparative public law. The book focuses mainly on the practice of judicial review of legislation in the US, Europe, and Latin America. The first two thirds trace the intellectual and historical foundations of constitutionalism, the etat de droit, and judicial review. There is little new material here, but the discussion is well done, and nonspecialists should find it easy to follow. Specialists, however, may dispute Brewer-Carias's claim that judicial review is an essential element of the constitutional state. One might have hoped to have seen a more extensive discussion about the differences between constitutional review and judicial review, which Brewer-Carias tends not to distinguish. The final third of the book--and the most useful--examines the various practices of judicial review in comparative perspective. Following the taxonomy suggested by Mauro Cappelletti's Judicial Review in the Contemporary World (1971), Brewer-Carias distinguishes among diffuse, concentrated, and mixed systems of judicial review. Cappelletti's somewhat dated treatment is better organized analytically, but Brewer-Carias's work is more timely and covers more ground. Especially useful is the attention Brewer-Carias gives to judicial review in Latin America; the discussion of Venezuela in particular reflects the author's expertise in this region. An indispensable work for anyone involved in comparative public law. Upper-division undergraduates and above. -J. E. Finn, Wesleyan University