Judicial Review and Electoral Law in a Global Perspective by Cristina Fasone | 2026

Judicial Review and Electoral Law in a Global Perspective by Cristina Fasone | 2026

This book addresses an important gap in constitutional law by analysing the worldwide movement toward more substantive constitutional review of electoral laws. It investigates the legal and democratic principles that justify judicial oversight of electoral legislation, explains the factors driving this global development, and evaluates its implications for representative democracy.

Using a comparative perspective, the book examines how the exchange of judicial ideas, legal reasoning, and constitutional models across jurisdictions has contributed to a gradual shift away from the traditionally deferential treatment of electoral laws, although such an approach remains influential in some legal systems.

To support this analysis, the authors explore the democratic principles underlying electoral systems and trace their historical development. They also consider the methodological challenges constitutional courts encounter when reviewing electoral legislation. Building on this foundation, the book provides a detailed examination of judicial decisions from more than fifteen jurisdictions across North and South America, Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Europe. Through this comparative study, it identifies the competing conceptions of democracy reflected in constitutional jurisprudence, assesses the role of constitutional borrowing, and evaluates how judicial decisions shape the relationship between courts, representative institutions, and the electorate.

By combining theoretical discussion with practical case analysis and offering a broad comparative perspective, the book serves as a valuable resource for scholars of law, political science, and philosophy. It is equally relevant to judges, policymakers, and others engaged in the development and practice of constitutional democracy around the world.

Table of contents of Judicial Review and Electoral Law in a Global Perspective by Cristina Fasone:

Foreword
Richard H Pildes (New York University, USA)

1. Introduction
Cristina Fasone (LUISS University, Italy), Edmondo Mostacci (University of Genova, Italy) and Graziella Romeo (Bocconi University, Italy)

Part I – Theoretical and Methodological Issues
2. Democracy and Elections
Pasquale Pasquino (New York University, USA)

3. The Moral Wrong in Partisan Gerrymandering - A Review
Emmanuel Voyakis (London School of Economics, UK)

Part II – The European Context
4. Electoral Challenges and the Doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty
Bob Watt (University of Oxford, UK)

5. Judicial Review of Representative Democracy: The French Demographic Perspective
Eleonora Bottini (Université de Caen Normandie, France)

6. Proportional Representation and Electoral Equality in Germany Constitutional Thinking and Case Law
Giacomo Delledonne (Sant'Anna University, Italy) and Bastian Michel (University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

7. The Italian Constitutional Court and Electoral Law: After the Landmark Judgments no 1 of 2024 and no 35 of 2017
Paolo Passaglia (University of Pisa, Italy)

8. Electoral Legislation in the Visegrád Countries. A Limited Judicial Activism in a Constitution-Making Dominated Subject
Jan Sawicki (Catholic University, Milan, Italy)

9. The Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights on Electoral Matters: Towards a Minimal Procedural Conception of Representative Democracy?
Robert Bray (European Law Institute, Austria) and Cristina Fasone (LUISS University, Italy)

Part III – Beyond Europe
10. Judicial Review and Presidential Elections in Africa
Berihun Adugna Gebeye (University College London, UK)

11. Electoral Constitutional Justice as the Tool to Protect Mexican Democracy
Irene Spigno (Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Mexico)

12. Electoral Justice and the Supreme Federal Court in Brazilian Democracy
Lucas Henrique Muniz da Conceição (Bocconi University, Italy)

13. Election Law, Judicial Review, and Canadian Democracy
Sarah Burton (University of Ottowa, Canada) and Michael Pal (University of Ottowa, Canada)

14. Challenging Political Equality in Electoral Legislation: The Case of the US Supreme Court
Graziella Romeo (Bocconi University, Italy) and Davide Zecca (University of Milan, Italy)

15. Judicial Review, Electoral Laws and Democracy in India
Rekha Diwakar (University of Sussex, UK)

16. The Japanese Supreme Court and the Equality of the Vote: A Careful Activism
Elisa Bertolini (Bocconi University, Italy)

17. Judicial Review and Elections in Australia
Julian R Murphy (University of Melbourne, Australia) and Erika Arban (University of Melbourne, Australia)

18. Electoral Law, Courts, and Constitutional Law: A Complex Relationship
Edmondo Mostacci (University of Genova, Italy), Graziella Romeo (Bocconi University, Italy) and Cristina Fasone (LUISS University, Italy)

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