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Unelected Supreme Courts, with their power of judicial review, are undemocratic

Danielle Servos
April26, 2015th
W15POLI820501
NIAGARIA COLLEGE
TERM PAPER

In liberal democracys it limits governments, and limits what is a

part of the government such as the, constitution act, bills of rights, charters

Unelected Supreme Courts, with their power of judicial review, are undemocratic

of rights and freedoms, and Magna Carta. Supreme courts are the highest
court systems available. When the supreme courts are not elected, they can
still be democratic. An interpretation like this one involves the distribution of
judicial review. This is giving Supreme Courts the power to ultimately decide
what is or is not the law of the land. Our supreme courts are filled with
jurists who are unelected and are usually appointed by the Prime minister, or
President. The Judiciary is being protected from political influence of any
kind. I will argue that the Supreme courts shows undemocratic nature and
decides the content of law, which are unelected to misunderstand the
different ways and the many different levels at which democracy works.
Supreme courts are democratic because their construction is in our hands
and we are the ones to elect.
Democracy is a system of government who rule either directly or
through elected representatives. There are three different types of
democracy. There is direct democracy which is a political system in which
citizens holds power directly rather than through elected or appointed
representatives (Nelson284). Direct democracy is the most common form of
democracy that is used today. Representative democracy is the second type
of democracy. This is a political system in which citizens holds power
indirectly by selecting representatives who render public decisions on their
behalf in popular assemblies (Nelson284). The third type of democracy is
digital democracy. This is when a broad term meant to encompass the
application of technological innovations to politics and political participation.

Unelected Supreme Courts, with their power of judicial review, are undemocratic

This is also called an e-democracy and can also be called e-politics

(Nelson285). These three definitions were taken from the politics text book.
Democracy isnt a republic. Many people think Democracy and Republic
is the same thing, but really they are not. Democracy and Republic are very
similar in many ways. A republic is a political order whos head of state is
not a monarch and in modern times, it is usually a president. It is a nation
that has a very strong political order. A political order in which the supreme
power lies in a body of citizens who entitled to vote for officers and
representatives that is responsible to them. Often the Republic is a specific
republican government of a nation, such as the Fourth Republic of France. It
is an autonomous or partially autonomous political and territorial unit
belonging to a sovereign federation. It is a group of people working as equals
in the same sphere or field as the republic of letters (2). Both forms of
government have been practiced for over thousands of years around the
world. Democracy is known to be freedom, where as a republic is known to
have a dictator. Liberal democracy is a form of government where the
representative democracy operates under the principles of liberalism, for
example, protecting the rights of the individual person, which are generally
forced in law. By definition liberalism is a political or social philosophy
advocating the freedom of the individual, parliamentary systems of
government, nonviolent modification of political, social, or economic
institutions to assure unrestricted development in all spheres of human
endeavor, and governmental guarantees of individual rights and civil

Unelected Supreme Courts, with their power of judicial review, are undemocratic

liberties(dictionary). Liberalism is a very important part in how democracy

runs. Liberalism is very positive and improves democracy.
In 1803 Madison v. Marbury was a case where the Supreme Court
announced for the first time the principle that a court may declare any act of
Congress and void it, if it is different with in the Constitution. Marbury had
been appointed a justice of the peace for the District of Columbia in the final
hours of the Adams administration. When James Madison, Thomas Jeffersons
secretary of state, refused to deliver Marburys commission, Marbury, joined
by three other similarly situated appointees, petitioned for a writ of
mandamus compelling delivery of the commissions. The immediate effect of
the decision was to deny any kind of power to the court. The long run effect
was to increase the courts power by establishing the rule it is emphatically
the province and duty of the judicial department to saw what the law is.
Since this case the Supreme court has been the final place for the
constitutionality of congressional legislation (1). In 1960 the bills of rights
was Canadas first federal law that protected human rights and fundamental
freedoms. In 1982 the bill of rights was changed to the Canadian Charter
rights and freedoms. The Canadian rights and freedoms is one part of the
Canadian constitution. The Constitution is a set of laws containing the basic
rules about how our country is run. For example, it contains the powers of
the federal government and those of the provincial governments in Canada,
which are the two main types of government that are used. The Magna Carta
is the first charter of rights system there ever was. This happened in England

Unelected Supreme Courts, with their power of judicial review, are undemocratic

in 1215. In the charter all of our rights are being protected. Our rights are for
our wellbeing. The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal. It serves legal
issues like public importance. It contributes to develop all branches of law in
the country. This court is very independent. It has a very high quality of work
and contributes significantly as foundations for a secure strong and
democratic country founded in the Rule of Law. The Supreme Court has eight
judges. The Supreme Court is a very important part of Canadas government.
The selection method used in Canada and used in the United States is
voting. We chose our leaders by having a vote every four years. In Canada
the current leader is allowed to run, for as long as they want to, but have to
be re-elected every four years.
In conclusion Unelected Supreme Courts, with their power of judicial review,
are democratic. Even though the Supreme Court shows some undemocratic
acts, overall it is run in a democratic way.

Unelected Supreme Courts, with their power of judicial review, are undemocratic

References
1. http://www.history.com/topics/marbury-v-madison
2. http://spiritualution.org/articles/democracy-what-it-is-and-what-it-isnt
(Gabriel of Urantia)
3. http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/court-cour/role-eng.aspx
4. Politics text book