New challenges to the separation of powers: the role of constitutional courts

The papers investigate the current challenge to the separation of power doctrine following the legal theory of an Italian constitutional scholar, Giovanni Bognetti. According to his theory, The Separation of powers is strictly linked with the particular relationship between Liberty and Authority and to the constitutional mutations that affected this relationship over time. In other words, the Separation of power doctrine is not only linked to a particular form of government, but also to the change of the form of State. In this light, we can trace two different models of the separation of power through the history of constitutionalism: the classical model, that is directly linked with the liberal state, and the social model, linked with the social-democratic (or welfare) state. One of the main features of the social model is the rise of two new powers alongside the three classical ones: constitutional courts and public administration. Starting from this perspective, the paper investigates the empowerment of the constitutional (and supranational) courts current global constitutional age, answering the following question: is the rise of juristocracy affecting the separation of powers doctrine).