Judicial Politics

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss the judicial politics within the Spanish Constitutional Court from three main points of view. First, we discuss the origins and institutional design of the Court from a comparative perspective. Second, by making use of the standard approaches (attitudinal, strategic and legalist models of judicial behaviour), we examine the extent to which and the different ways in which political actors and other agents have engaged with the Court and what this has meant for its role in Spanish politics and policy-making. Finally, we focus on judicial behaviour in the Court, both from a comparative and an empirical perspective, and with a particular emphasis on the Court’s role in the allocation of powers and competencies between the central government and the ‘comunidades autónomas’.