Judicial review of constitutional reforms promoted and approved in the United States through direct democracy mechanisms

Abstract

Several American states allow their citizens to directly initiate a reform process of their state constitution and, in almost all of them, a referendum is required to approve any state constitutional reform. This centuries-old experience is a valuable analysis tool for Ibero-American legal operators to have more elements of judgment when assessing and interpreting the broad casuistry in matters of constitutional change through the direct participation of citizens. Thus, in this work the reader is introduced to the vast jurisprudence that has been produced on the matter. The judicial control, exante and expost, of compliance with the formal, procedural and substantial requirements established in the state order and the possible contradiction of the state constitutional reform with superior norms, the federal Constitution and federal laws, is analyzed.