The judicialization of territorial politics in Brazil, Colombia and Spain

Vale, Helder Ferreira do

Abstract

This article explains how judicial review influences intergovernmental political dynamics in Brazil, Colombia and Spain. The argument is developed in light of two questions: how supreme courts have established themselves as pivotal institutions for settling vertical intergovernmental disputes, and how national and subnational politicians use judicial review in order to enhance their own interests. A comparison between the judicial review processes in federal Brazil, quasi-federal Spain, and unitary Colombia provides an answer to these questions. Accounting for the differences in the territorial organization and systems of government among these countries, the article assesses the patterns of judicial review originating from the subnational level. Findings suggest that courts affect the interaction between national and subnational politicians in the three country-cases, but through different patterns of judicialization of territorial politics.

judicial review; constitutional change; intergovernmental relations; territorial politics; decentralization

AGRANOFF, Robert and GALLARÍN, Juan Antonio R. (1997), Toward federal democracy in Spain: An examination of intergovernmental relations. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, vol.27, nº4, pp. 1-38.
AJA FERNÁNDEZ, Eliseo. (1996), Los principales periodos de desarrollo del estado autonómico. VII Jornadas de Estudio La Unión Europea: Repercusiones de la Conferencia Intergubernamental de 1996, Logroño, 23-27 October.
ALEINIKOFF, Alexander T. (1997), Constitutional Law in the Age of Balancing. The Yale Law Journal, vol.96, nº5, pp. 943-1005.
ARAÚJO, Alberto Luiz. (2005), O marco normativo do sistema de organização territorial no Brasil. In: Ordenamiento territorial en Brasil y España, edited by Antonio G. Moreira Maués and Itzíar Gómez Fernández. Valencia: Tirant la Blanch.
BRASIL. Supremo Tribunal Federal. http://www.stf.jus.br/portal/principal/principal.asp
ARAUJO, Luiz Alberto D. (2005), O marco normativo do sistema de organização territorial no Brasil. In Ordenamiento territorial en Brasil y España, edited by Antonio G. Moreira Maués and Itzíar Gómez Fernández.Valencia: Tirant la Blanch.
CAJAS SARRIÁ, Mário Alberto. (2007), Acerca de la interpretación en el control de las reformas constitucionales. Díkaion, 16, pp. 31-47.
CARRILO, Ernesto. (1997), Local Government and Strategies for Decentralization in the "State of the Autonomies". Publius: The Journal of Federalism, vol.27, nº4, pp. 39-64.
CARVALHO, Ernani Rodrigues. (2004), Em busca da judicialização da política no Brasil: apontamentos para uma nova abordagem. Revista de Sociologia e Política, nº23, pp. 115-126.
COLOMBIA. Constitutional Court of Colombia. http://english.corteconstitucional.gov.co
ELKINS, Zachary; GINSBURG, Tom Ginsburg; MELTON, James Melton. (eds.). (2009), The endurance of national constitutions. New York and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
EPSTEIN, Lee and KNIGHT, Jack. (1998), The Choices Justice Make. Washington, D.C: CQ Press.
FALLETI, Tulia G. (2010), Decentralization and Subnational Politics in Latin America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
FERNÁNDEZ, Eliseo A. (1996), Los principales periodos de desarrollo del Estado autonómico. Anuario juridico de La Rioja, nº2, pp. 121-144.
FOX, Justin. and STEPHENSON, Matthew C. (2011), Judicial Review as a Response to Political Posturing. American Political Science Review, vol.105, nº2, pp. 397-414.
GAVARA DE CARA, Juan Carlos. (2011), Los efectos de la STC 31/2010 del estatuto de Autonomía de Cataluña: Las implicaciones para su normativa de desarrollo y los estatutos de otras Comunidades Autónomas. Teoría y realidad constitucional, nº 27, pp. 239-289.
GINSBURG, Tom. (2003), Judicial Review in New Democracies: Constitutional Courts in Asian Cases. New York: Cambridge University Press.
GUARNERI, Carlo and PEDERZOLI, Patricia. (2002), From Democracy to Juristocracy? The Power of Judges: A Comparative Study of Courts and Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
GUERRA, Luis López. (2000), Las Sentencias básicas del Tribunal Constitucional. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales.
GRABER, Mark A. (2005), Constructing Judicial Review. Annual Review of Political Science, vol.8, pp. 425-451.
GUILLÉN LOPEZ, Enrique Guillen. (2008), Judicial Review in Spain: The Constitutional Court. Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, vol.41, nº2, pp. 529-562.
HALBERSTAM, Daniel. (2008), Comparative Federalism and the Role of the Judiciary. In: The Oxford Handbook of Law and Politics, edited by Keith E. Whittington, R. Daniel Kelemen, Gregory A. Caldeira. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
HEYWOOD, Paul. (1995), The Government and Politics of Spain. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
HIRSCHL, Ran. (2007), Towards Juristocracy: The Origins and Consequences of New Constitucionalism. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
HIRSCHL, Ran. (2008), Judicialization of Politics. In: The Oxford Handbook of Law and Politics, edited by Keith E. Whittington, R. Daniel Kelemen, Gregory A. Caldeira. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
KAPISZEWSKI, Diana. (2011), Tactical Balancing: High Court Decision Making on Politically Crucial Cases. Law & Society Review, vol.45, nº2, pp. 471-506.
LEONI, Eduardo L and RAMOS, Antonio P. (2006), Judicial Preferences and Judicial Independence in New Democracies: The Case of the Brazilian Supreme Court. New York: Columbia University.
LÓPEZ GUERRA, Luis. 2008, Las sentencias básicas del Tribunal Constitucional. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales.
MACIEL, Débora Alves and KOERNER, Andrei. (2002), Sentidos da Judicialização da Política: Duas Análises. Lua Nova, nº57, pp.113-133.
MAUÉS, Antonio Gomes M. (2005), O Federalismo brasileiro na jurisprudência do Supremo Tribunal Federal (1988-2003). In: Direito constitucional contemporâneo: estudos em homenagem ao professor Paulo Bonavides. Belo Horizonte: Del Rey.
MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (Spain). 2006, Conflictividad entre el estado y las comunidades autónomas. Madrid: Secretaría de Estado y Cooperación Territorial.
NIELSON, Daniel L. and SHUGART, Matthew S. (1999), Constitutional Change in Colombia: Policy Adjustment Through Institutional Reform. Comparative Political Studies, vol.32, nº3, pp. 313-341.
OLIVEIRA, Vanessa E. (2005), Judiciário e Privatizações no Brasil: Existe uma Judicialização da Política?. Dados - Revista de Ciências Sociais, vol.48, nº3, pp. 559-587.
OPESKIN, Brian R. (2001), Mechanisms for intergovernmental relations. International Social Science Journal, vol.53, nº167, pp.129-138.
RASCH, Bjorn E. and CONGLETON, Roger D. (2006), Amendment Procedures and Constitutional Stability. In: Democratic Constitutional Design and Public Policy, Analysis and Evidence, edited by Roger D. Congleton and Birgitta Swedenborg. Cambridge: MIT Press.
REYES, Manuel A. (1986), ¿Estado jurisdiccional o autonómico? Revista Vasca de Administración Pública, nº16, pp. 7-12.
RÍOS-FIGUEROA, Julio. and TAYLOR, Matthew M. (2006), Institutional Determinants of the Judicialization of Policy in Brazil and Mexico. Journal of Latin America Studies, vol.38, nº4, pp. 739-766.
RODRÍGUEZ-RAGA, Juan Carlos. (2008), Strategic Constitutional Review in Latin America: the case of Colombia, 1992-2006, Paper presented at the MPSA 66th Annual National Conference, Chicago, IL.
RODRÍGUEZ-RAGA, Juan Carlos. (2011), Strategic Deference in the Colombian Constitutional Court, 1992 - 2006. In: Courts in America, edited by Gretchen Helmke and Julio Ríos-Figueroa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ROGERS, James R. (2001), Information and Judicial Review: A Signaling Game of Judicial-Legislative Interaction. American Journal of Political Science, vol.45, nº1, pp. 84-99.
ROSE-ACKERMAN, Susan; DESIERTO, Diane Alferez.; VOLOSIN, Natalia. (2011), Hyper-Presidentialism: Separation of Powers Without Checks and Balances in Argentina and the Philippines. Berkeley Journal of International Law, vol.29, nº1, pp. 246-333.
SANTISO, Carlos. (2003), Economic reform and judicial governance in Brazil: balancing independence with accountability. Democratization, vol.10, nº4, pp.161-180.
SPAIN. Spanish Constitution (1978), http://www.congreso.es/portal/page/portal/Congreso/Congreso/Hist_Normas/Norm/const_espa_texto_ingles_0.pdf
SPAIN. MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION. (2006), Conflictividad entre el estado y las comunidades autónomas. Madrid: Secretaría de Estado y Cooperación Territorial.
SATO, MIYUKI. (2003), Judicial Review in Brazil. Nominal and Real. Global Jurist Advances, vol.3, nº1, pp. 1535-1661.
SOUZA, Celina. (1997), Constitutional engineering in Brazil: the politics of federalism and decentralization. London: St. Martin's Press.
STEIN, Ernesto; MARIANO, Tommasi; ECHEBARRÍA, Koldo; LORO, Eduardo; PAYNE, Mark. (2005), The politics of policies: Economic and social progress in Latin America. Washington: Inter-American Development Bank.
TATE, C. Neal. (1995), Why the expansion of judicial power. In: The global expansion of judicial power, edited by C. Neal Tate and Torbjörn Vallinder. New York: New York University Press.
TATE, C. Neal; VALLINDER, Torbjörn. (1995), Judicialization and the future of politics and policy. In: The global expansion of judicial power, edited by C. Neal Tate and Torbjörn Vallinder. New York: New York University Press.
TRIDIMAS, George. (2010), Constitutional Judicial Review and Political Insurance. European Journal of Law and Economics, nº29, pp. 81-101.
UPRIMNY, Rodrigo. (2003), The Constitutional Court and Control of Presidential Extraordinary Powers in Colombia. Democratization, vol.10, nº4, pp. 46-69.
UPRIMNY, Rodrigo. (2007), A judicialização da política na Colômbia: casos, potencialidades e riscos. Sur - Revista Internacional de Direitos Humanos, vol.4, nº6, pp. 52-69.
VALLINDER, Torbjörn. (1995), When Courts go Marching In. In: The global expansion of judicial power, edited by C. Neal Tate and Torbjörn Vallinder. New York: New York University Press.
VANBERG, Georg. (2001), Legislative-Judicial Relation: A Game-Theoretic Approach to Constitutional Review. American Journal of Political Science, vol.45, nº2, pp. 346-361.
VAUBEL, Roland. (2009), Constitutional courts as promoters of political centralization: lessons for the European Court of Justice. European Journal of Law and Economics, vol.28, nº3, pp. 203-222.
VIANNA, Luis Werneck; CARVALHO, Maria Alice Rezende de; MELO, Manuel Palacios Cunha; BURGOS, Marcelo Baumann. (1999), A judicialização da política e das relações sociais no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Revan.
VIANNA, Luis Werneck; BURGOS, Marcelo Baumman; SALLES, Paula Martins. (2007), Dezessete anos de judicialização da política. Tempo Social - Revista de Sociologia da USP, vol.19, nº2, pp. 39-85.
VILLAAMIL, Óscar Alzaga. (2011), La nación como poder constituyente en los preámbulos de las leges superiores: el Estatuto de 2006 y la STC 31/2010. Teoría y Realidad Constitucional, nº27, pp. 131-176.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
08 Oct 2013
Date of issue
2013

History

Received
Oct 2012
Accepted
June 2013

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

[1] AGRANOFF, Robert and GALLARÍN, Juan Antonio R. (1997), Toward federal democracy in Spain: An examination of intergovernmental relations. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, vol.27, nº4, pp. 1-38.

[2] AJA FERNÁNDEZ, Eliseo. (1996), Los principales periodos de desarrollo del estado autonómico. VII Jornadas de Estudio La Unión Europea: Repercusiones de la Conferencia Intergubernamental de 1996, Logroño, 23-27 October.

[3] ALEINIKOFF, Alexander T. (1997), Constitutional Law in the Age of Balancing. The Yale Law Journal, vol.96, nº5, pp. 943-1005.

[4] ARAÚJO, Alberto Luiz. (2005), O marco normativo do sistema de organização territorial no Brasil. In: Ordenamiento territorial en Brasil y España, edited by Antonio G. Moreira Maués and Itzíar Gómez Fernández. Valencia: Tirant la Blanch.

[5] BRASIL. Supremo Tribunal Federal. http://www.stf.jus.br/portal/principal/principal.asp

[6] ARAUJO, Luiz Alberto D. (2005), O marco normativo do sistema de organização territorial no Brasil. In Ordenamiento territorial en Brasil y España, edited by Antonio G. Moreira Maués and Itzíar Gómez Fernández.Valencia: Tirant la Blanch.

[7] CAJAS SARRIÁ, Mário Alberto. (2007), Acerca de la interpretación en el control de las reformas constitucionales. Díkaion, 16, pp. 31-47.

[8] CARRILO, Ernesto. (1997), Local Government and Strategies for Decentralization in the "State of the Autonomies". Publius: The Journal of Federalism, vol.27, nº4, pp. 39-64.

[9] CARVALHO, Ernani Rodrigues. (2004), Em busca da judicialização da política no Brasil: apontamentos para uma nova abordagem. Revista de Sociologia e Política, nº23, pp. 115-126.

[10] COLOMBIA. Constitutional Court of Colombia. http://english.corteconstitucional.gov.co

[11] ELKINS, Zachary; GINSBURG, Tom Ginsburg; MELTON, James Melton. (eds.). (2009), The endurance of national constitutions. New York and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[12] EPSTEIN, Lee and KNIGHT, Jack. (1998), The Choices Justice Make. Washington, D.C: CQ Press.

[13] FALLETI, Tulia G. (2010), Decentralization and Subnational Politics in Latin America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[14] FERNÁNDEZ, Eliseo A. (1996), Los principales periodos de desarrollo del Estado autonómico. Anuario juridico de La Rioja, nº2, pp. 121-144.

[15] FOX, Justin. and STEPHENSON, Matthew C. (2011), Judicial Review as a Response to Political Posturing. American Political Science Review, vol.105, nº2, pp. 397-414.

[16] GAVARA DE CARA, Juan Carlos. (2011), Los efectos de la STC 31/2010 del estatuto de Autonomía de Cataluña: Las implicaciones para su normativa de desarrollo y los estatutos de otras Comunidades Autónomas. Teoría y realidad constitucional, nº 27, pp. 239-289.

[17] GINSBURG, Tom. (2003), Judicial Review in New Democracies: Constitutional Courts in Asian Cases. New York: Cambridge University Press.

[18] GUARNERI, Carlo and PEDERZOLI, Patricia. (2002), From Democracy to Juristocracy? The Power of Judges: A Comparative Study of Courts and Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[19] GUERRA, Luis López. (2000), Las Sentencias básicas del Tribunal Constitucional. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales.

[20] GRABER, Mark A. (2005), Constructing Judicial Review. Annual Review of Political Science, vol.8, pp. 425-451.

[21] GUILLÉN LOPEZ, Enrique Guillen. (2008), Judicial Review in Spain: The Constitutional Court. Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, vol.41, nº2, pp. 529-562.

[22] HALBERSTAM, Daniel. (2008), Comparative Federalism and the Role of the Judiciary. In: The Oxford Handbook of Law and Politics, edited by Keith E. Whittington, R. Daniel Kelemen, Gregory A. Caldeira. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[23] HEYWOOD, Paul. (1995), The Government and Politics of Spain. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

[24] HIRSCHL, Ran. (2007), Towards Juristocracy: The Origins and Consequences of New Constitucionalism. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

[25] HIRSCHL, Ran. (2008), Judicialization of Politics. In: The Oxford Handbook of Law and Politics, edited by Keith E. Whittington, R. Daniel Kelemen, Gregory A. Caldeira. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[26] KAPISZEWSKI, Diana. (2011), Tactical Balancing: High Court Decision Making on Politically Crucial Cases. Law & Society Review, vol.45, nº2, pp. 471-506.

[27] LEONI, Eduardo L and RAMOS, Antonio P. (2006), Judicial Preferences and Judicial Independence in New Democracies: The Case of the Brazilian Supreme Court. New York: Columbia University.

[28] LÓPEZ GUERRA, Luis. 2008, Las sentencias básicas del Tribunal Constitucional. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales.

[29] MACIEL, Débora Alves and KOERNER, Andrei. (2002), Sentidos da Judicialização da Política: Duas Análises. Lua Nova, nº57, pp.113-133.

[30] MAUÉS, Antonio Gomes M. (2005), O Federalismo brasileiro na jurisprudência do Supremo Tribunal Federal (1988-2003). In: Direito constitucional contemporâneo: estudos em homenagem ao professor Paulo Bonavides. Belo Horizonte: Del Rey.

[31] MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (Spain). 2006, Conflictividad entre el estado y las comunidades autónomas. Madrid: Secretaría de Estado y Cooperación Territorial.

[32] NIELSON, Daniel L. and SHUGART, Matthew S. (1999), Constitutional Change in Colombia: Policy Adjustment Through Institutional Reform. Comparative Political Studies, vol.32, nº3, pp. 313-341.

[33] OLIVEIRA, Vanessa E. (2005), Judiciário e Privatizações no Brasil: Existe uma Judicialização da Política?. Dados - Revista de Ciências Sociais, vol.48, nº3, pp. 559-587.

[34] OPESKIN, Brian R. (2001), Mechanisms for intergovernmental relations. International Social Science Journal, vol.53, nº167, pp.129-138.

[35] RASCH, Bjorn E. and CONGLETON, Roger D. (2006), Amendment Procedures and Constitutional Stability. In: Democratic Constitutional Design and Public Policy, Analysis and Evidence, edited by Roger D. Congleton and Birgitta Swedenborg. Cambridge: MIT Press.

[36] REYES, Manuel A. (1986), ¿Estado jurisdiccional o autonómico? Revista Vasca de Administración Pública, nº16, pp. 7-12.

[37] RÍOS-FIGUEROA, Julio. and TAYLOR, Matthew M. (2006), Institutional Determinants of the Judicialization of Policy in Brazil and Mexico. Journal of Latin America Studies, vol.38, nº4, pp. 739-766.

[38] RODRÍGUEZ-RAGA, Juan Carlos. (2008), Strategic Constitutional Review in Latin America: the case of Colombia, 1992-2006, Paper presented at the MPSA 66th Annual National Conference, Chicago, IL.

[39] RODRÍGUEZ-RAGA, Juan Carlos. (2011), Strategic Deference in the Colombian Constitutional Court, 1992 - 2006. In: Courts in America, edited by Gretchen Helmke and Julio Ríos-Figueroa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[40] ROGERS, James R. (2001), Information and Judicial Review: A Signaling Game of Judicial-Legislative Interaction. American Journal of Political Science, vol.45, nº1, pp. 84-99.

[41] ROSE-ACKERMAN, Susan; DESIERTO, Diane Alferez.; VOLOSIN, Natalia. (2011), Hyper-Presidentialism: Separation of Powers Without Checks and Balances in Argentina and the Philippines. Berkeley Journal of International Law, vol.29, nº1, pp. 246-333.

[42] SANTISO, Carlos. (2003), Economic reform and judicial governance in Brazil: balancing independence with accountability. Democratization, vol.10, nº4, pp.161-180.

[43] SPAIN. Spanish Constitution (1978), http://www.congreso.es/portal/page/portal/Congreso/Congreso/Hist_Normas/Norm/const_espa_texto_ingles_0.pdf

[44] SPAIN. MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION. (2006), Conflictividad entre el estado y las comunidades autónomas. Madrid: Secretaría de Estado y Cooperación Territorial.

[45] SATO, MIYUKI. (2003), Judicial Review in Brazil. Nominal and Real. Global Jurist Advances, vol.3, nº1, pp. 1535-1661.

[46] SOUZA, Celina. (1997), Constitutional engineering in Brazil: the politics of federalism and decentralization. London: St. Martin's Press.

[47] STEIN, Ernesto; MARIANO, Tommasi; ECHEBARRÍA, Koldo; LORO, Eduardo; PAYNE, Mark. (2005), The politics of policies: Economic and social progress in Latin America. Washington: Inter-American Development Bank.

[48] TATE, C. Neal. (1995), Why the expansion of judicial power. In: The global expansion of judicial power, edited by C. Neal Tate and Torbjörn Vallinder. New York: New York University Press.

[49] TATE, C. Neal; VALLINDER, Torbjörn. (1995), Judicialization and the future of politics and policy. In: The global expansion of judicial power, edited by C. Neal Tate and Torbjörn Vallinder. New York: New York University Press.

[50] TRIDIMAS, George. (2010), Constitutional Judicial Review and Political Insurance. European Journal of Law and Economics, nº29, pp. 81-101.

[51] UPRIMNY, Rodrigo. (2003), The Constitutional Court and Control of Presidential Extraordinary Powers in Colombia. Democratization, vol.10, nº4, pp. 46-69.

[52] UPRIMNY, Rodrigo. (2007), A judicialização da política na Colômbia: casos, potencialidades e riscos. Sur - Revista Internacional de Direitos Humanos, vol.4, nº6, pp. 52-69.

[53] VALLINDER, Torbjörn. (1995), When Courts go Marching In. In: The global expansion of judicial power, edited by C. Neal Tate and Torbjörn Vallinder. New York: New York University Press.

[54] VANBERG, Georg. (2001), Legislative-Judicial Relation: A Game-Theoretic Approach to Constitutional Review. American Journal of Political Science, vol.45, nº2, pp. 346-361.

[55] VAUBEL, Roland. (2009), Constitutional courts as promoters of political centralization: lessons for the European Court of Justice. European Journal of Law and Economics, vol.28, nº3, pp. 203-222.

[56] VIANNA, Luis Werneck; CARVALHO, Maria Alice Rezende de; MELO, Manuel Palacios Cunha; BURGOS, Marcelo Baumann. (1999), A judicialização da política e das relações sociais no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Revan.

[57] VIANNA, Luis Werneck; BURGOS, Marcelo Baumman; SALLES, Paula Martins. (2007), Dezessete anos de judicialização da política. Tempo Social - Revista de Sociologia da USP, vol.19, nº2, pp. 39-85.

[58] VILLAAMIL, Óscar Alzaga. (2011), La nación como poder constituyente en los preámbulos de las leges superiores: el Estatuto de 2006 y la STC 31/2010. Teoría y Realidad Constitucional, nº27, pp. 131-176.

Brasil

Brasil

The judicialization of territorial politics in Brazil, Colombia and Spain

Abstract

Publication Dates

History