Hans Kelsen and the Austrian Constitutional Court (1918-1929)

this article intends to examine hans kelsen's contribution to the establishing of the first austrian constitutional court, analyzing the key differences between kelsen's model of constitutional court and that of his german mentor, the jurist georg jellinek, while focusing on the concrete austrian historical-political background which had an impact on the shaping and even on the collapse of the constitutional court. unlike most of the works dedicated to such topic, this article pays a great attention to the historicalpolitical dimension behind kelsen's efforts to create a serious system of juridical defense of the austrian constitution. in this sense, kelsen's constitutional court is analyzed in reference to the problem of protecting the young austrian democracy - emerged from the ashes of the habsburg empire - against its numerous opponents. a problem which is at the core of kelsen's works on democracy published in the 20s.