... of Luxembourg and blessed with benign neglect by the powers that be and the mass media'5. The European Court therefore met with little criticism even after giving a number of its most radical case law. 'Judicial activism' is when courts do not confine themselves to reasonable interpretations of laws, but instead make law. Alternatively, judicial activism is when courts do not limit their ruling to the dispute before them, but instead set up a new rule to use broadly to matters not presented in the specific action. Judicial activism is when judges replace their own political opinions for the applicable law, or when judges act like a legislature rather than like a traditional court. In so doing, the court takes for itself the powers of parliament rather than limiting itself to the powers traditionally given to the judiciary. The topic of 'Judicial Activism' is a live one in most countries ...

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