A Kelsenian model of constitutional adjudication The Austrian Constitutional Court

摘要

For more than hundred years the “American system” of adjudication, mastered by one Supreme Court vested with the power to review not only judicial, but also administrative as well as legislative acts enjoyed the virtual monopoly to serve as the role-model of Constitutional review. When the Austrian Constitution was enacted in 1920, however, it was supplemented by an “Austrian system” of adjudication essentially designed byHans Kelsen; creating a specialized body to review the constitutionality of legislative acts; the first Constitutional Court. This article provides an introduction to the Court’s organization and proceedings.