Constitutional litigation in general attracts two distinct types of conflict: disputes of a highly politicized or culturally controversial nature and requests from citizens claiming a violation of a fundamental constitutional right. The side-by-side comparison between the U.S. Supreme Court and the German Federal Constitutional Court provides a novel socio-legal approach in studying constitutional litigation, focusing on conditions of mobilisation, decision-making and implementation.

This updated and revised second edition includes a number of new contributions on the political status of the courts in their democratic political cultures.

Ralf Rogowski is Director of the Law and Sociology Programme and Professor of Law in the School of Law at the University of Warwick. His recent books include The Shape of the New Europe (co-authored 2004), Die Wirkung des Bundesverfassungsgerichts (Co-authored with T. Gawron 2007), Reflexive Labour Law in the World Society (2013), and The Sustainability of the European Social Model (Co-edited 2015).

Thomas Gawron is Lecturer in law at the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (HTW), Berlin. He has published Die Wirkung des Bundesverfassungsgerichts (Co-authored with R. Rogowski 2007).

Praise for the first edition:
“…reveals numerous and fruitful points of contact between American and German constitutional law on the one hand, and the emerging case-law under the HRA on the other… provides vital background information concerning the underlying structures and institutions of both systems.” · European Public Law

“The essays offer valuable models for assessing the direction of comparative constitutional law… With well-presented illustrative tables, this book is an excellent contribution to the field. Recommended.” · Choice

“Taken together, the essays provide a dispute-processing framework as a model for systematic inquiry.” · Cambridge Scientific Abstracts