1 THE LAW AND PRACTICE OF JUDICIAL REVIEW BY JUSTICE ...

Judicial review in the second sense flows from Article 4 of the Gambian Constitution
which states that:
“The Constitution is the supreme law of The Gambia and any other law found
to be inconsistent with any provision of this Constitution shall, to the extent of
the inconsistency be void.”
The authority to exercise judicial review pursuant to this concept of supremacy of the
Constitution is vested exclusively in the Supreme Court. Judicial review in the
second sense is thus the function of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is given
explicit jurisdiction in section 127 of the Constitution as follows:
“The Supreme Court shall have an exclusive original jurisdiction
(a) For the interpretation or enforcement of any provision of
this Constitution other than any provision of sections 18 to
33 or section 36 (5) (which relate to fundamental rights and
freedoms);
(b) On any question whether any law was made in excess of the
powers conferred by this Constitution or any other law
upon the National Assembly or any other person or
authority;
(c) On any question as to whether or not any person was
validly elected to the office of President or was validly
elected to, or vacated his or her seat in, ...”
My brother, Dotse JSC judicially summarised Gambian law on this issue pithily in
United Democratic Party v Attorney-General [2002-2008] GLR 331 at 347, as
follows:
“The Constitution of the Gambia is supreme. The supremacy is provided for
in section 4 of the Constitution. It occupies the first place in the Legal System
of the Gambia and its jurisprudence. It is the beginning and the end.”
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