In this book the author argues that judicial activism in respect of the protection of human rights and dignity and the right to due process is an essential element of the democratic rule of law in a constitutional democracy as opposed to being 'judicial overreach'. Selected recent case law is explored from the US and Canadian Supreme Courts as well as the European Court of Human Rights illustrating that these Courts have, at times, engaged in judicial activism in the service of providing equal protection of the law and due process to the powerless but have, on other occasions, employed legalistic but insupportable strategies to sidestep that obligation.The book will be of interest to those with a deep concern regarding the factors that influence judicial decision-making and the judiciary's role through judgments in promoting and preserving the underpinnings of democracy. This includes legal researchers, the judiciary, practicing counsel and legal academics and law students as well as those in the area of democracy studies, in addition to scholars in the fields of sociology and philosophy of law.

Discusses judicial activism on the left and the right Argues that judicial activism in respect of the protection of human rights and due process is an essential feature of the democratic rule of law Discusses selected contemporary US Supreme Court, Canadian Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights cases illustrating judicial activism

Autorentext

Sonja C. Grover, Ph.D., is a Professor with Lakehead University, Canada. She has authored 7 books and over 80 refereed articles; over 60 on the topic of human rights published in leading international human rights and law journals, has presented numerous international conference papers and published book chapters in this field. She has also written several books on children's human rights including, "Children's Human Rights: Challenging Global Barriers to the Child Liberation Movement" (2007); "The Child's Right to Legal Standing" (2008) and a major reference book, "Prosecuting International Crimes and Human Rights Abuses Committed Against Children: Leading International Court Cases" (2009).

Inhalt
Judicial Activism and Its Intersection with Democratic Rule of Law.- The Supreme Court of the United States and Judicial Activism in the Trump Era.- Judicial Activism in Selected Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of Canada.- Judicial Activism, the "Living Instrument" Doctrine and the European Court of Human Rights.- "Principled Judicial Activism" in Defense of Our Common Humanity.- Concluding Comment.