judicial review

American  

[joo-dish-uhl ri-vyoo] / dʒuˈdɪʃ əl rɪˈvju /

noun

1. the power of a court to adjudicate the constitutionality of the laws of a government or the acts of a government official.

---

judicial review Cultural  

1. The principle by which courts can declare acts of either the executive branch or the legislative branch unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has exercised this power, for example, to revoke state laws that denied civil rights guaranteed by the Constitution. (See also checks and balances.)

---

Etymology

Origin of judicial review

First recorded in 1920–25