The Judicialization of Politics in Germany on JSTOR

 ABSTRACT. Judicialization of politics means that more and more political questions are decided by courts and thereby political alternatives are reduced. In Germany it is the Federal Constitutional Court that is most involved in this process of judicialization. Members of Parliament contribute to this development by litigating far too often a lawsuit before the Constitutional Court and by carrying too far the consideration of legal arguments in legislation. Judges of the Constitutional Court contribute to the judicialization by sometimes exceeding their competences and by becoming involved in power politics. As the Constitutional Court has only a limited democratic legitimacy, it is detrimental to a democracy when such a court frequently decides on policy-making.