The untold leader of judicial review: China's Constitutional Court (1948–71) and innovative constitutionalism.

This article examines the development and survival of China’s Constitutional Court from the early twentieth century through its relocation to Taiwan by 1971, emphasizing its unique role as the world’s oldest constitutional court that endured both authoritarian and democratic regimes. Drawing on newly available diaries of Chiang Kai-shek and Presidents of the Judicial Yuan, it highlights how China’s legal exceptionalism, its status as a victor state after the world wars, and strong meritocratic judicial leadership—especially the interactions between judicial leaders and Chiang Kai-shek—facilitated the institutionalization and resilience of the Constitutional Court. The article situates China’s Constitutional Court within the broader global “second wave” of judicial review, noting its innovative integration into Sun Yat-sen’s quintuple-power constitutional system and its role as a guardian of constitutionalism despite political turmoil. It argues for recognizing China’s Constitutional Court as a distinct paradigm in comparative constitutional law, challenging dominant liberal-democratic narratives and advocating for a more historically nuanced and diversified understanding of constitutionalism.