Public trust in the European legal systems

Independence, Accountability and Awareness

Bibliographic Data

ID8041823
AuthorsNuno Garoupa (0000-0001-6792-0918, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia, USA), Pedro C Magalhães (0000-0001-8934-4552, University of Lisbon, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume44
Issue3
Pages690-713
Publication date2020-02-14
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWest European Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0140-2382 • E-ISSN: 1743-9655
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01402382.2020.1715605
OpenAlexW3005651317
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited51

Two findings stand out in the literature on public attitudes vis-à-vis courts. The first is that judicial independence increases public trust. The second is that ‘to know courts is to love them’. In this study, these stylised facts are used as a starting point to ask three questions. First, is there also a role for judicial accountability in fostering public trust, above and beyond that played by independence? Second, could it be that only the most aware citizens are sensitive to such properties of the judicial system? Third, is the notion that ‘to know courts is to love them’ limited to systems with high levels of judicial independence and accountability? Using recently available macro-level indicators of judicial independence and accountability and the high-quality survey data collected by the European Social Survey in 32 countries throughout more than a decade, this study provides evidence that the answers to these questions are positive

Accountability · Business · Economics · Independence (probability theory · Law and economics · Political economy · Political science · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Legal principles and applications · Ombudsman and Human Rights · Public Administration