Cuba’s 2019 Constitution and the 2022 Law on the Process of Protection of Constitutional Rights create a mixed model of review. Accordingly, the legislature and the executive review the constitutionality of legislation and regulations, while the courts review the constitutionality of state actions. Synthesizing comparative constitutional law and new institutionalism in political science, this article argues that the mixed constitutional review in Cuba is shaped by different historical influences; competing socialist and liberal ideas and discourse; competing political interests; and competing socialist and universal values. The Cuba experience presents a new hope for other socialist countries like China and Vietnam where the vehement struggle for judicial review has largely failed. Judicial review is not impossible in the socialist regimes. In such regimes, political review can be retained, but judicial review of the constitutionality of state actions can be introduced without undermining legislative supremacy. Yet, Cuba’s version of mixed constitutional review is limited: courts are not allowed to review legislation and regulations. In the longer term, an expanded model of mixed constitutional review can be adopted in Cuba and other socialist states, which would integrate political review and judicial review of regulations and legislation.
