Constitutional litigation in general attracts two distinct types of conflict: disputes of a highly politicized or culturally controversial nature and requests from citizens claiming a violation of a fundamental constitutional right. This volume shows that the U.S. Supreme Court and the German Federal Constitutional court fulfill similar functions and are faced with similar issues: the vast majority of cases are complaints or petitions from citizens whereas the "political" cases are relatively few but are decisive in shaping the role of the two courts. The authors, all eminent American and German constitutional lawyers and political scientists, analyze the political function of the two courts. Topics include access and case selection, decision making and the particular role of the law clerks and legal assistants, and structures and processes of implementation of decision of the two courts. Ralf Rogowski is Reader in Law at the University of Warwick and has written a number of books and articles in the areas of comparative law, judicial research, labor law and European Union law. Thomas Gawron teaches law at the Magdeburg and Stendhal Polytechnics.

His main areas of research are constitutional law and the law of the built environment.