普通法发源于英国,但法学体系中的宪法解释学却是在美国起源并在普通法体系中发展到最高水平的。美国的宪法司法审查实践引发了三个紧密联系的问题,即法官宣告由民主选举产生的立法机构(包括国会和州立法机构)制定的法律无效是否合法,法官如何解释宪法,法官如何发挥能动性从而在审查立法行为时能做到多大程度的自我控制。通过分析可知,司法审查的合法性正在得到国际社会的广泛认可,并且目前也存在着许多解释宪法的理论、方法和方式,而对于司法能动性适合于何种情况却仍然是美国宪法辩论的中心问题。 Common law originated in the United Kingdom, but the constitutional hermeneutics in the legal system is the United States originated and developed to the highest level in the common law system. The United States practice of judicial review of the constitution has triggered three closely linked questions: Judges declare the validity of the law formulated by democratically elected legislatures (including the legislature and the state legislature) legitimate; how judges interpret the constitution; and how judges are motivated How much self-control can be made in reviewing legislative acts. Through the analysis we can see that the legitimacy of judicial review is being widely recognized by the international community and there are many theories, methods and ways to explain the constitution so far. However, it remains the central issue in the U.S. constitutional debate about the suitability of judicial activism .