Judicial Review Of Federal Umpiring: A Comparative Analysis
Hiya Das & Ankita Sharma, Research Scholars
at North Eastern Hill University, Meghalaya.*
Abstract
The legal supremacy of the Constitution is essential for the existence of the federal system. Judicial Review is essential for maintaining supremacy of the Constitution and for checking the possible misuse of power. By invoking this power, judiciary acts as an umpire or an arbiter between the Centre and the states for maintaining the federal balance. Thus, this power enables the judiciary to secure the federal equilibrium of the country. In India, judicial review is a mechanism by which judiciary within the contours of Article 13 of the Constitution of India determines whether a law passed by the Legislature or any other public regulation having the force of law, is in consonance with the Constitution. However, the Constitution of USA did not expressly vest this function of guardianship in the judiciary. But the framers of the Constitution assumed that it would follow from the common law doctrine of ‘ultra vires’, according to which courts had the power to invalidate the act of an inferior body which transgressed the mandate of the superior authority which is binding on the subordinate body.
Keywords: Federal, Judicial Review, Umpire, Checks & Balances.
* Ph.D. Research Scholars at Department of Law, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya.
