Niels Petersen is Professor of Public Law, International Law and EU Law at Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany. He is the author of a number of articles published in leading comparative constitutional law journals.

• Introduction; 1. Judicial review and the correction of political market failures; 2. The normative debate on balancing; 3. Balancing and judicial legitimacy; 4. Proportionality as a doctrinal construction; 5. The avoidance of balancing; 6. Rationalising balancing; Conclusion: proportionality and the review of legislative rationality.

'Niels Peterson's Proportionality and Judicial Activism is a very timely and accomplished book. It is an important addition to the now quite considerable literature on proportionality, and it would benefit anyone interested in this omnipresent doctrine, especially in the three jurisdictions it covers - Germany, Canada, and South Africa. The book is not too long, and extremely readable - two non-negligible advantages for any reader - and Peterson has a rare capacity of simplifying intricate analytical moves and theoretical constructs without losing accuracy, a talent he also applies to the many cases he reviews in the book. The book is also innovative and ambitious, making it a very interesting and enriching read.' Iddo Porat, International Journal of Constitutional Law