Author Description

"In the former East Bloc countries, one of the most important, and most difficult, aspects of the transition to democracy has been the establishment of constitutional justice and the rule of law. Herman Schwartz's wide-ranging book is the first to chronicle and analyze the rise of constitutional courts in this changing region.". "Schwartz explores how and why these courts have become so influential and also discusses the ways in which they differ, the reasons for those differences, and how the often dramatic conflicts of the post-Communist era have affected them. By examining their decisions in political, economic, and social contexts, Schwartz shows how these courts have used their power to keep presidents, prime ministers, administrators, and legislators within constitutional limits. The courts' successes and failures in umpiring political power struggles involve such figures as Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Lech Walesa, and Vladimir Meciar. Focusing in detail on the relative success stories of Poland and Hungary, where the courts faced little opposition, Schwartz then turns to the more problematic situations in Russia, Slovakia, and Bulgaria, where the courts' independence and very existence were threatened by both old-line Communists and new-style authoritarians."--BOOK JACKET.