#21 – 2/17/25 – Unite for Courts and Judicial Review

Judicial review is the means by which the people retain some power for themselves while giving some power to those who represent them.

Think of it this way: it’s an overstory for humanity.

All power to govern is derived from the people who are governed;

The people, who give some power to those who govern, have the right to retain power for themselves to insure that those they have given some power to govern, do not abuse the power they were given; 

Through the creation of a Bill of Rights, the people guarantee certain rights and prevent the abuse of their rights by those who govern;

With a Constitution, the people empower independent judges to decide cases which arise from the rights established in the Bill of Rights.

The power of the judges to decide the meaning and scope of the Bill of Rights is judicial review. Judicial review is a way to check that the government, including the President and the Legislature, is respecting the Constitution, and not exceeding the limited power they were given.

A Bill of Rights, with judicial review, is what the author Yuval Harari would call a “self correcting mechanism.” That is, when a government is created, it is foreseeable, given history and human rights, that there will be those who will attempt to usurp power to themselves. When they do, history shows this often leads to war and the violation of rights.  Therefore, a Bill of Rights, such as the draft International Bill of Rights which is part of Unite for Rights, is written to protect against athoritarian government.

The essential element of judicial review is that courts, not the President, decide the meaning and scope of the rights in a Bill of Rights. There is an ongoing international struggle taking place today about whether the courts, or Presidents, have the final say as to the meaning of a Bill of Rights, or a written Constitution. 

There is no rule of law without judicial review!

In the past week you can see this struggle emerging in the United States. On February 16, 2025, President Trump published this tweet:

Such a claim is not unique to President Trump. A meme that President Trump has posted attributes this same assertion to Nepoleon Bonaparte.