Emerging Judicial Power in Transitional Democracies

Emerging Judicial Power in Transitional Democracies
Author: Rachel L. Ellett
Publisher: ProQuest
Total Pages: 553
Release: 2008
Genre: Africa, Sub-Saharan
ISBN: 9780549521709

It is broadly accepted that an independent and empowered judiciary is central to the rule of law. This dissertation examines the construction of judicial power in emerging democracies through addressing the paradoxical presence of strong judicial power in weak and volatile democracies. I argue that we must unpack our assumptions about democracy and move beyond regime based theories of judicial behavior. I find that existing strategic decision-making theories do not adequately account for the emergence of judicial power in sub-Saharan Africa. Instead this study finds that variation in level of judicial institutionalization or viability accounts for the presence of strong judicial power in weak democracies. A judiciary with a high level of institutional viability is able to withstand the frequent exogenous shocks typically present in sub-Saharan Africa's neopatrimonial regimes.

Judicial Review in New Democracies

Judicial Review in New Democracies
Author: Tom Ginsburg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2003-07-23
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780521520393

New democracies around the world have adopted constitutional courts to oversee the operation of democratic politics. Where does judicial power come from, how does it develop in the early stages of democratic liberalization, and what political conditions support its expansion? This book answers these questions through an examination of three constitutional courts in Asia: Taiwan, Korea, and Mongolia. In a region that has traditionally viewed law as a tool of authoritarian rulers, constitutional courts in these three societies are becoming a real constraint on government. In contrast with conventional culturalist accounts, this book argues that the design and functioning of constitutional review are largely a function of politics and interests. Judicial review - the power of judges to rule an act of a legislature or national leader unconstitutional - is a solution to the problem of uncertainty in constitutional design. By providing insurance to prospective electoral losers, judicial review can facilitate democracy.

Pathways to Judicial Power in Transitional States

Pathways to Judicial Power in Transitional States
Author: Rachel Ellett
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2013-08-21
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1135966052

This book examines the complex relationship that exists between the construction of judicial power, and the institutional characteristics of the courts and their regime setting. It examines the intriguing connection between the construction of judicial power on the one hand, and the institutional characteristics of the courts and regime setting on the other. The book asks whether courts are rendered powerful by virtue of their institutional characteristics or by a supportive, perhaps acquiescent, regime setting. By analyzing the historical pathways of courts in Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi, this book argues that the emergence of judicial power since the colonial period, though fraught with many challenges, presents a unique opportunity for consolidating democracy. The book examines in detail the significant political decisions of the upper-level courts in Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi from the colonial period to the present day, analyzing them in relation to changes in the political environment over time. Analysis of these decisions is also supplemented by in-depth interviews with judges, lawyers and other important stakeholders in the judicial processes. This book demonstrates that even in the most challenging regime environments, effective institutions and determined individuals can push back against interference and issue politically powerful, independent decisions but the way in which judiciaries respond to this regime pressure varies enormously across countries and regions.

Judicial Politics in Mexico

Judicial Politics in Mexico
Author: Andrea Castagnola
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2016-11-03
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1315520591

After more than seventy years of uninterrupted authoritarian government headed by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), Mexico formally began the transition to democracy in 2000. Unlike most other new democracies in Latin America, no special Constitutional Court was set up, nor was there any designated bench of the Supreme Court for constitutional adjudication. Instead, the judiciary saw its powers expand incrementally. Under this new context inevitable questions emerged: How have the justices interpreted the constitution? What is the relation of the court with the other political institutions? How much autonomy do justices display in their decisions? Has the court considered the necessary adjustments to face the challenges of democracy? It has become essential in studying the new role of the Supreme Court to obtain a more accurate and detailed diagnosis of the performances of its justices in this new political environment. Through critical review of relevant debates and using original data sets to empirically analyze the way justices voted on the three main means of constitutional control from 2000 through 2011, leading legal scholars provide a thoughtful and much needed new interpretation of the role the judiciary plays in a country’s transition to democracy This book is designed for graduate courses in law and courts, judicial politics, comparative judicial politics, Latin American institutions, and transitions to democracy. This book will equip scholars and students with the knowledge required to understand the importance of the independence of the judiciary in the transition to democracy.

Democratization and the Judiciary

Democratization and the Judiciary
Author: Siri Gloppen
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2004
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780714655680

Introduction : the accountability function of courts in new democracies / Siri Gloppen, Roberto Gargarella, and Elin Skaar Judicial review in developed democracies / Martin Shapiro How some reflections on the United States' experience may inform African efforts to build court systems and the rule of law / Jennifer Widner The constitutional court and control of presidential extraordinary powers in Colombia / Rodrigo Uprimny The politics of judicial review in Chile in the era of domestic transition, 1990-2002 / Javier A. Couso Legitimating transformation : political resource allocation in the South African constitutional court / Theunis Roux The accountability function of courts in Tanzania and Zambia / Siri Gloppen Renegotiating "law and order" : judicial reform and citizen responses in post-war Guatemala / Rachel Sieder Economic reform and judicial governance in Brazil : balancing independence with accountability / Carlos Santiso In search of a democratic justice what courts should not do : Argentina, 1983-2002 / Roberto Gargarella Lessons learned and the way forward / Irwin P. Stotzky.

Fragile Democracies

Fragile Democracies
Author: Samuel Issacharoff
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2015-06-17
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1107038707

This book examines how constitutional courts can support weak democratic states in the wake of societal division and authoritarian regimes.

Judicial Power

Judicial Power
Author: Christine Landfried
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 411
Release: 2019-02-07
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1316999084

The power of national and transnational constitutional courts to issue binding rulings in interpreting the constitution or an international treaty has been endlessly discussed. What does it mean for democratic governance that non-elected judges influence politics and policies? The authors of Judicial Power - legal scholars, political scientists, and judges - take a fresh look at this problem. To date, research has concentrated on the legitimacy, or the effectiveness, or specific decision-making methods of constitutional courts. By contrast, the authors here explore the relationship among these three factors. This book presents the hypothesis that judicial review allows for a method of reflecting on social integration that differs from political methods, and, precisely because of the difference between judicial and political decision-making, strengthens democratic governance. This hypothesis is tested in case studies on the role of constitutional courts in political transformations, on the methods of these courts, and on transnational judicial interactions.

Judges and Democratization

Judges and Democratization
Author: B. C. Smith
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2017-02-24
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1134827849

Judiciaries must be politically impartial and immune from political interference if democracy is to be consolidated in countries in transition from authoritarian rule. Without an independent judiciary there can be no rule of law, and without the rule of law there can be no democracy. Judges and Democratization is based on the premise that democracy cannot be consolidated without the rule of law of which judicial independence is an indispensable part. It pays particular attention to the restraints placed upon judicial independence, and the reforms which are being applied, or remain to be adopted, in order to guard against the different kinds of interference which prevent judicial decisions being taken in a wholly impartial way. It examines the paradox of judicial activism arising from the independence endowed upon the judiciary by post-authoritarian constitutions. The book asks how, in the context of this endowed authority, such accountability can be made compatible with the preservation of judicial independence when the concept of an accountable, independent judiciary appears to be a contradiction in terms. This text will be of key interest to teachers and students of politics, comparative government/politics, combined politics and law, democracy and governance, human rights and democratization, and democratic development.

Judicial Independence: Cornerstone of Democracy

Judicial Independence: Cornerstone of Democracy
Author: Shimon Shetreet
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 633
Release: 2024-03-28
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9004535098

This book is an academic continuation of the previous five volumes on judicial independence edited by Shimon Shetreet, with others: Jules Deschenes, Christopher Forsyth, Wayne McCormack, Hiram E. Chodosh and Eric Helland, all books were published by Brill Nijhoff: Judicial Independence: The Contemporary Debate (1985), The Culture of Judicial Independence: Conceptual Foundations and Practical Challenges (2012), The Culture of Judicial Independence: Rule of Law and World Peace (2014), The Culture of Judicial Independence in a Globalised World (2016), Challenged Justice: In Pursuit of Judicial Independence (2021). This volume offers studies by distinguished scholars and judges from different jurisdictions on numerous dimensions regarding the essential role of judicial independence in democracy. It includes analyses of basic constitutional principles and contemporary issues of judicial independence and judicial procces in many jurisdictions and analyses of international standarts of judicial independence and judicial ethics.