What is judicial review?

Based on the context of separation of powers, the arms of government should be allowed to operate autonomously. However, this autonomy should be regulated through an established framework, where each arm has the capacity to regulate the other arms of government.

In many countries, judicial review is the framework employed by the judiciary to regulate the executive and legislative arms of government. The judiciary, in this case, has the authority to expunge laws that contradict or are incompatible with the supreme law of the land, such as the constitution. Thus, the judicial review provides an opportunity for the judiciary to ensure the other arms of government do not go beyond their authority. Judicial review remedies the problems caused by legislative supremacy, where the majority in the house may tend to dictate the laws of the land without due regard to what is applicable.