From Minimalism to the Substantive Core and Back: The Slovak
Constitutional Court and (the Lack of) Constitutional Identity

C 2023

From Minimalism to the Substantive Core and Back: The Slovak Constitutional Court and (the Lack of) Constitutional Identity

ŠIPULOVÁ, Katarína and Max STEUER

Basic information

Original name

From Minimalism to the Substantive Core and Back: The Slovak Constitutional Court and (the Lack of) Constitutional Identity

Authors

ŠIPULOVÁ, Katarína (703 Slovakia, guarantor, belonging to the institution) and Max STEUER (703 Slovakia)

Edition

1st. Neuveden, The Jurisprudence of Particularism National Identity Claims in Central Europe, p. 81-104, 24 pp. Bloomsbury Open Access, Hart Publishing 2023, 2023

Publisher

Hart Publishing

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Kapitola resp. kapitoly v odborné knize

Field of Study

50501 Law

Country of publisher

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Publication form

printed version "print"

References:

Open access knihy

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14220/23:00130672

Organization unit

Faculty of Law

ISBN

978-1-5099-6012-5

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781509960156

Keywords in English

constitutional identity; particularism; constitutional courts; Slovak Constitutional Court

Abstract

V originále

The chapter on the SCC hence demonstrates that constitutional courts may develop their reading of constitutional identity in a reactive way. The lack of textual hooks in the text of the Slovak Constitution, combined with experience of political unrest, tradition of judicial minimalism, and dominance of separation of powers disputes in the SCC’s case law, eventually led the court to ground its approach to constitutional identity in the substantive core doctrine. This doctrine represents a reading of constitutional identity which aims at integrating democracy, human rights and the rule of law. We argue that locking in the principle of judicial independence became important both for the SCC’s self-preservation and for its understanding of the threats to the Slovak judiciary in general. Therefore, the government’s attempt to interfere in judicial independence via the security screening of judges spurred the court to quash several provisions of the constitutional act. However, in doing so the SCC also created a space for a pushback from the populist government, which demanded more accountability for the ‘non-democratic’ judiciary by curtailing the court’s formal powers in an accelerated procedure. This is important for the broader literature examining legislative reactions to judicialisation of politics.

Citovat

ŠIPULOVÁ, Katarína and Max STEUER. From Minimalism to the Substantive Core and Back: The Slovak Constitutional Court and (the Lack of) Constitutional Identity. In Kriszta Kovács. The Jurisprudence of Particularism National Identity Claims in Central Europe. 1st. Neuveden: Hart Publishing, 2023, p. 81-104. Bloomsbury Open Access, Hart Publishing 2023. ISBN 978-1-5099-6012-5. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781509960156.

@inbook{2278317,
   author = {Šipulová, Katarína and Steuer, Max},
   address = {Neuveden},
   booktitle = {The Jurisprudence of Particularism National Identity Claims in Central Europe},
   doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781509960156},
   edition = {1st},
   editor = {Kriszta Kovács},
   keywords = {constitutional identity; particularism; constitutional courts; Slovak Constitutional Court},
   howpublished = {tištěná verze "print"},
   language = {eng},
   location = {Neuveden},
   isbn = {978-1-5099-6012-5},
   pages = {81-104},
   publisher = {Hart Publishing},
   title = {From Minimalism to the Substantive Core and Back: The Slovak Constitutional Court and (the Lack of) Constitutional Identity},
   url = {https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/63692},
   year = {2023}
}

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TI  - From Minimalism to the Substantive Core and Back: The Slovak Constitutional Court and (the Lack of) Constitutional Identity
VL  - Bloomsbury Open Access, Hart Publishing 2023
PB  - Hart Publishing
CY  - Neuveden
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KW  - constitutional identity
KW  - particularism
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KW  - Slovak Constitutional Court
UR  - https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/63692
N2  - The chapter on the SCC hence demonstrates that constitutional courts may develop their reading of constitutional identity in a reactive way. The lack of textual hooks in the text of the Slovak Constitution, combined with experience of political unrest, tradition of judicial minimalism, and dominance of separation of powers disputes in the SCC’s case law, eventually led the court to ground its approach to constitutional identity in the substantive core doctrine. This doctrine represents a reading of constitutional identity which aims at integrating democracy, human rights and the rule of law. We argue that locking in the principle of judicial independence became important both for the SCC’s self-preservation and for its understanding of the threats to the Slovak judiciary in general. Therefore, the government’s attempt to interfere in judicial independence via the security screening of judges spurred the court to quash several provisions of the constitutional act. However, in doing so the SCC also created a space for a pushback from the populist government, which demanded more accountability for the ‘non-democratic’ judiciary by curtailing the court’s formal powers in an accelerated procedure. This is important for the broader literature examining legislative reactions to judicialisation of politics.
ER  -

ŠIPULOVÁ, Katarína and Max STEUER. From Minimalism to the Substantive Core and Back: The Slovak Constitutional Court and (the Lack of) Constitutional Identity. In Kriszta Kovács. \textit{The Jurisprudence of Particularism National Identity Claims in Central Europe}. 1st. Neuveden: Hart Publishing, 2023, p.~81-104. Bloomsbury Open Access, Hart Publishing 2023. ISBN~978-1-5099-6012-5. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781509960156.

Detailed Information on Publication Record