The US Supreme Court has rightly been described as one of the most powerful courts in the world. Many countries with codified constitutions have a constitutional court or an assigned institution that undertakes judicial review. Such courts interpret the provisions of the constitution and apply them to the individual cases that are brought before them. Laws or government decisions can be declared unconstitutional and invalidated.
Over the years few, if any, courts have asserted their right to undertake judicial review so forcefully and expansively as the US Supreme Court. Many state laws have, wholly or in part, been struck down. Thus, over the years, the Supreme Court has played a pivotal role in reshaping US society and politics. If any reminder of the Supreme Court’s importance was needed it came in June 2015 when it ruled on a further challenge to the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (often dubbed ‘Obamacare’) and claims that same-sex couples had a constitutional right to marry.
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