Courts are institutions within the broad body politic of their society, which comprises not only the branches and institutions of the state, but also political parties, the media, civil society and the legal profession. The role that courts play in modern bodies politic has expanded significantly since the Second World War, mainly as a result of the practice of writing constitutions. These constitutions have often been adopted at a time of transitions, such as decolonisation, following a war or a period of autocratic rule or civil war and have accordingly often been accompanied by uncertainty and fragility. Responding to the expanded role of courts with a general normative claim that the expanded role of courts is democratically inappropriate without a careful consideration of the circumstances in which the role of courts has been expanded is unsatisfactory and in a world in which democratic backsliding is largely characterised by an expansion in executive power is probably also unwise.