The Court; insulating itself from politics through the doctrine of political questions: a critical exposition

Sambo, Abdulfatai O. and Ab Aziz, Shamrahayu (2012) The Court; insulating itself from politics through the doctrine of political questions: a critical exposition. Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization, 4 ((2012)). pp. 7-15. ISSN 2224-3240 E-ISSN 2224-3259

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Abstract

One of the most controversial theories in constitutional discourse is the doctrine of political questions. The court, by this, seeks to insulate itself from political pressures by avoiding the determination of questions which appear political in nature. The singular reason for this act is basically that some questions, such as this, are outside the purview of the courts to decide. Courts are therefore enjoined to refuse the determination of political questions in order to insulate itself from politics. This is despite the fact that democracy enjoins, constitutionalism, free speech, accountability, transparency, human rights, political pluralism and so on on the part of governmental institutions. The institution in which these concepts are anchored is the court. The paper therefore makes a critical exposition of the doctrine of political questions and contends that the court cannot insulate itself from politics merely because it has avoided the determination of political questions. Rather, this will amount to court abdicating its constitutional role as an organ of government. In this paper, various theories on political questions are examined.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Judiciary, Political Questions, Constitutionalism, Policy, Democracy
Subjects:	K Law > K3150 Public law K Law > K3400 Administrative Law
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws
Depositing User:	DR. SHAMRAHAYU A. AZIZ
Date Deposited:	07 Jun 2023 08:57
Last Modified:	07 Jun 2023 08:57
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/104907

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