Judicial constitutional comparativism at the UK Supreme Court

In 2008, Lord Reed in his paper ‘Foreign precedents and judicial reasoning: the American debate and British practice’ noted the lack of full scholarly consideration of judicial comparativism in the UK. Ten years later, judicial reference to foreign judgments is still a very common phenomenon in this...

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Main Author: Lienen, Christina (author)
Published: 2024
Online Access:https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/3602
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author Lienen, Christina
author_facet Lienen, Christina
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Lienen, Christina
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024
2026-01-22T08:05:47Z
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/3602
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv en_US
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Judicial constitutional comparativism at the UK Supreme Court
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Article
description In 2008, Lord Reed in his paper ‘Foreign precedents and judicial reasoning: the American debate and British practice’ noted the lack of full scholarly consideration of judicial comparativism in the UK. Ten years later, judicial reference to foreign judgments is still a very common phenomenon in this jurisdiction, however very little has been written about it. This paper assesses the UK Supreme Court’s constitutional law jurisprudence in light of the main themes and arguments underlying the international debate con cerning judicial comparativism. I argue that: (i) the use of foreign law is constitutionally legitimate where clear statutory language is respected; (ii) transferability concerns are mitigated by the interwoven ness of the global common law system; and (iii) methodology concerns are mitigated by the UK Supreme Court’s flexible, humble approach, which applies careful scrutiny to the foreign authorities put before it. Foreign judgments, I conclude, are never followed blindly or arbitrarily, and perhaps this is why there is no domestic debate about judicial comparativism, not even in the constitutional sphere.
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spelling Judicial constitutional comparativism at the UK Supreme CourtLienen, ChristinaIn 2008, Lord Reed in his paper ‘Foreign precedents and judicial reasoning: the American debate and British practice’ noted the lack of full scholarly consideration of judicial comparativism in the UK. Ten years later, judicial reference to foreign judgments is still a very common phenomenon in this jurisdiction, however very little has been written about it. This paper assesses the UK Supreme Court’s constitutional law jurisprudence in light of the main themes and arguments underlying the international debate con cerning judicial comparativism. I argue that: (i) the use of foreign law is constitutionally legitimate where clear statutory language is respected; (ii) transferability concerns are mitigated by the interwoven ness of the global common law system; and (iii) methodology concerns are mitigated by the UK Supreme Court’s flexible, humble approach, which applies careful scrutiny to the foreign authorities put before it. Foreign judgments, I conclude, are never followed blindly or arbitrarily, and perhaps this is why there is no domestic debate about judicial comparativism, not even in the constitutional sphere.2026-01-22T08:05:47Z2024Articlehttps://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/3602en_USoai:bspace.buid.ac.ae:1234/36022026-01-29T17:24:03Z
spellingShingle Judicial constitutional comparativism at the UK Supreme Court
Lienen, Christina
title Judicial constitutional comparativism at the UK Supreme Court
title_full Judicial constitutional comparativism at the UK Supreme Court
title_fullStr Judicial constitutional comparativism at the UK Supreme Court
title_full_unstemmed Judicial constitutional comparativism at the UK Supreme Court
title_short Judicial constitutional comparativism at the UK Supreme Court
title_sort Judicial constitutional comparativism at the UK Supreme Court
url https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/handle/1234/3602