Constitutional Perspectives on the Impartiality of Law
Constitutional Perspectives on the Impartiality of Law

Summary/Abstract: Impartiality in constitutional law is associated with the Rule of Law; it is fruitfully juxtaposed to extreme partiality. The latter usually takes the form of arbitrary legislation without reasonable justification. The guarantees of the impartiality of law have been political and legal. From the comparative point of view, the national approaches to the impartiality of law vary according to their position on the appropriate combination between the legal and the political guarantees of the impartiality of law. The view of law as the expression of the general will has been very influential, especially in France. However, in Post-War constitutionalism, the focus of the constitutional state to secure the impartiality of law is not on the legislature, but on the courts, through judicial review. New techniques have developed to this end. Two of the most serious problems related with the impartiality of law in the contemporary context concern the neutrality of law and ad hoc balancing. Notwithstanding the variety of perspectives on the impartiality of law, the latter is an indispensable aspect of constitutional law and a core principle of public law.

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