Congress V/S Supreme Court

Foundation for Better Government

(www.bettergovt.blogspot.com)

Congress V/S Supreme Court

By T.S. Khanna, April 15,2012.

Political philosopher, John Locke, once remarked: “…In a controversy, rebuttal is necessary lest victory be judged not for him who had the truth on his side, but the last word in the dispute.”

Silence on part of the Congress after the Supreme Court decision of the case, “Marbury v/s Madison” 1803, unwittingly gave Supreme Court the power of judicial review to overrule the Congress enactments on the basis of constitutional interpretation.

With the passage of time, increasing population and diversity kept making the constitutional amendment process in Article V, more and more cumbersome placing the Supreme Court in a vantage position.

Greed to expand power intersected the opportunity for the Supreme Court to make two basic shifts in its constitutional adjudication: (a) assertion of power not authorized in the Constitution, (b) denial of the limits of judicial review set forth in the 1803 Marbury v/s Madison case (Ref. Government By Judiciary, by Raoul Berger, 1997, Liberty Fund). Now the weight of tradition is in the Supreme Court’s favor.

Political beliefs, victories, or personal predilections are irrelevant and must be cast aside in this issue. The practice of Supreme Court overruling the Congress is in conflict with the fundamental element of democracy: sovereignty of the people and their will represented by the Congress. This practice may be ended and the constitutional amendment process may be amended to make it less cumbersome. Congress must make every effort to regain its lost prestige.