the europeanization of legal cultures alternative dispute resolution (ADR). In the last twenty years, the number of civil disputes in Finnish courts has fallen dramatically. So-called court-annexedmediation has become very popular, and mediation is also possible in minor criminal law cases.11 The enthusiasm for alternatives to traditional conflict resolution by the courts largely stems from the costs and effectiveness of court proceedings, and far less from an analysis of the role of the courts and judiciary in society. Only a few individuals seem aware of one of the most important legal revolutions ever, namely the founding of independent courts to resolve conflicts based on the equal treatment of citizens. Nonetheless, even today the courts should have enough cases – a real variety – with which to pursue a discussion of justice in society. The other, even more striking example is the current debate on constitutional review. Even the President of the Supreme Court has supported the founding of a constitutional court in Finland. This speaks of a misunderstanding of history. All three generations of European constitutional courts were founded as symbols of a new democratic order; however, none of the three waves of democratization had its origins among the people. In Germany and Italy, a democratic system was established under the tutelage of the victors, mainly the US. Other changes were generally based on negotiations between the political elites, not democratically legitimized. At the same time, the new constitutional courts were founded out of a mistrust of the former majoritarian institutions, which had been misused and corrupted by the Nazi, Fascist or Communist regimes. Thus, constitutional courts were seen as representing the essence of democratic change. In that way they also enjoyed ‘revolutionary legitimacy’. The image was reinforced by the abstract competence of the courts, the competence to declare an unconstitutional law void – the competence of a ‘negative legislator’, as defined by Hans Kelsen, the founding father of the Austrian Constitutional Court. 11 See Anna Nylund, Kaijus Ervasti & Lin Adrian (eds.), Nordic Mediation Research (Cham: Springer, 2018). 285
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