The Illusion of Merit-Based Judicial Selection in Post-Communist Judiciary

Evidence from Slovakia

Bibliographic Data

ID12431981
AuthorsSamuel Spáč (0000-0003-0841-0883, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume69
Issue6
Pages528-538
Publication date2020-09-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueProblems of Post-Communism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1075-8216 • E-ISSN: 1557-783X
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10758216.2020.1806080
OpenAlexW3083668122
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited41

Judges all around the world, including in post-communist Europe, have become increasingly involved in the administration of judiciaries. Judicial self-governance is believed to secure greater judicial independence and merit-based decision-making regarding judicial careers. This article analyzes 126 examples of selection procedures at Slovak district courts that were held between 2012 and 2015 and finds that judge-dominated selection committees prefer candidates who can be expected to replicate the existing system. Candidates’ social and judicial cultural capital, either knowing someone in the selection committee or having a family member working as a judge, serve as vehicles for such preferences

Communism · Corporate governance · Czech · Economics · Independence (probability theory · Judicial discretion · Judicial Independence · Judicial opinion · Judicial review · Management · Political science · Politics · Selection (genetic algorithm · Slovak · Computer Science · European and International Law Studies · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Law in Society and Culture

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