POLI_330 Political Science
2025/2026
Verified Questions and Answers
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, Chamberlain College of Nursing
1. Rule of Law - modern definition comes from work by Dicey in 1885
- equal responsibility and protection under rule of law, meaning
equal for all members
- gvmts should also be restrained by the rule of law
- laws have to be prospective (apply from when they're passed on-
wards), publicly promulgated (available to the public) and universal
2. How can we tell how much - judicial rates, equality of litigants is seriously compromised
rule of law there is in a giv-
en country?
3. What makes rule of law - purported link between rule of law and justice, social predictability
desireable? is liked by both parties
- often seen as the main reason citizens for joining a state
- greater likelihood that fundamental rights will be respected
- facilitates economic dev.
4. True or false: Civil law is TRUE, all the laws that legislation produces are codified in statutes,
built on codification by substantive (whats legal and illegal) or procedural laws (how
evidence is collected, procedures in which cases move through the
legal system).
5. In which system does judi- COMMON LAW. There is judicial Review: can invalidate laws, law
cial review exist? speaks through them.
6. What is the system of CIVIL LAW is the most influential + oldest (dates back to roman law).
law used most around the It's the law used MOSTLY around the world.
world?
7. True or false: in the Com- FALSE, Common law is based on recognition that both the legislature
mon law system only the and the Courts make law (judges make law). Whereas Civil law is
legislature can make laws based on the idea of legislative supremacy.
, Chamberlain College of Nursing
8. What is the basis of the In order to guard against tyranny of the majority you need judicial
Common law's argument review.
for judicial review?
9. What is the basis for - courts = counter majoritarian
the Civil law's argument - unaccountable institutions, not elected
against judicial review? - members of the elite, not subject to any checks themselves
- legislature should have the biggest power in society; laws shouldn't
be controlled by the minority (judges)
10. Arguments against judi- - not always a force for progress
cial review - undermines dem. organizing and procedures
11. Arguments for judicial re- - powerful courts can hold the other 2 branches accountable
view - increase transparency
- reduces partisan conflict and pacifies politics
12. Which legal system needs CIVIL LAW, common law systems don't need to be updated, just add
to be constantly updated? the new cases
13. Common law constitu- - diffuse and concrete
tional review - not only the SC, but can be exercised by any court (entire judicial
hierarchy has power of judicial review)
14. Kelsenian type of consti- - concentrated in the const. court
tutional review - no hierarchy of institutions
15. Definition of Kelsenian - examines the text of the law and const. in the abstract (not in context
constitutional courts of a particular case)
16. Judges in Kelsenian courts - are scholars (not judges) good at abstract comparisons of texts,
good @ const. doctrine
- judges are in the ordinary judiciary and are trained to only apply
laws
, Chamberlain College of Nursing
17. Does the const. court sit NO, usually there is a Supreme Court at the top of the hierarchy.
on top of the judicial hier-
archy?
18. Justiciability - who can bring cases to court, what can they be about
- who has standing?
- governed by numerous/complicated doctrines which vary from
country to country
19. Actio popularis - individuals can draft petitions and send it to the constitutional court
and argue again without
having been harmed themselves, that a certain law is unconstitution-
al and should be stricken down
- opens up the process to everybody
20. Recurso de Amparo - option for litigants to ask to suspend a regular case/ask for protec-
tion from laws they see as unconstitutional
- ask const. court directly, in these cases the court will rule directly
on a case
- may rule to suspend law for the particular case
21. Sua Sponte power - constitutional court petitioning itself
- no one needs to be harmed by the law
- may see that many "recurso de amparo" cases have arisen, look
into the constitutionality of that piece of legislature
22. A posteriori powers - const. court can decide on adopted statutes that have already been
promulgated
- all const. courts have this power
23. A priori powers