Regimes and the Rule of Law
Judicial Independence in Comparative Perspective
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6232779 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gretchen Helmke (0000-0002-6322-9086, University of Rochester), Frances Mccall Rosenbluth (0000-0001-5187-3539, Yale University), Frances Rosenbluth (Yale University) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 345-366 |
| Publication date | 2009-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Annual Review of Political Science (BOOK_SERIES) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1094-2939 • E-ISSN: 1545-1577 |
| Publisher | Annual Reviews (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1146/annurev.polisci.12.040907.121521 |
| OpenAlex | W2150592526 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 91 |
| References cited | 65 |
According to popular wisdom, judicial independence and the rule of law are essential features of modern democracy. Drawing on the growing comparative literature on courts, we unpack this claim by focusing on two broad questions: How does the type of political regime affect judicial independence? Are independent courts, in fact, always essential for establishing the rule of law? In highlighting the role of institutional fragmentation and public opinion, we explain why democracies are indeed more likely than dictatorships to produce both independent courts and the rule of law. Yet, by also considering the puzzle of institutional instability that marks courts in much of the developing world, we identify several reasons why democracy may not always prove sufficient for constructing either. Finally, we argue that independent courts are not always necessary for the rule of law, particularly where support for individual rights is relatively widespread
Democracy · Dictatorship · Independence (probability theory · Judicial activism · Judicial Independence · Judicial review · Law and economics · Political science · Politics · Public law · Rule of law · Sociology · Comparative and International Law Studies · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems
Mainstreaming Justice in the Establishment of Laws and Regulations Process
Judges Guarding Judges
Preferences or principles? The ‘noncompliance penalty’ and the limits of public support for the rule of law
Institutions on the Edge
Supreme Courts
Regime Threats and State Solutions
Who will defend democracy? Evaluating tradeoffs in candidate support among partisan donors and voters
Suing the Leviathan
The Role of Law in Resisting Authoritarianism
Estimating the Effects of Political Instability in Nascent Democracies
The public prosecution office
Politics, Religion and Law
The Independence of Judges and Corporate Social Responsibility
Populist constitutional backsliding and judicial independence
Workload, legal doctrine, and judicial review in an authoritarian regime
Are Adjudication Panels Strategically Selected? The Case of Constitutional Court in Poland
A Theory of Defiant Courts in Nondemocratic Regimes
Political Interventions in the Administration of Justice
Power Sharing and Democracy in Post-Civil War States
Hybrid Constitutionalism
Reframing Debt, Reshaping Governance
Puede la independencia judicial explicar la justicia postransicional
Rebuilding the Rule of Law in the Era of Democratic Backsliding
Judges and Their Allies
Does De Jure Judicial Independence Really Matter
The Provision of Insurance
The Demand for Insurance
Judicial Reform – A Neglected Dimension of SSR in El Salvador
The politics of panel systems
Experimental Justice Reform
De Facto Judicial Independence and Physical Integrity Rights
Economic sanctions, repression capacity, and human rights
Ideology and judicial independence
Courts and Horizontal Accountability in Hybrid Regimes
A Bottom-Up Analysis of Societal Belief in Judicial Independence in Russia
Killer drones
Litigation process of social movements as a driver of norm transformation
Constitutional Competition Between the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and the Chinese National People's Congress Standing Committee
Captured Courts and Legitimized Autocrats
International Arbitration and Judicial Politics in Authoritarian States
Exploring Litigation, Court Rulings, and Legal Mobilization in Response to Death and Suicide from Overwork
Miscarriage of Chief Justice
From Expansion to Erosion
Understanding domestic determinants of rule of law in Southeastern Europe
Regimes and industrialization
The Rule of Law and Economic Growth
A new cross-country index measuring the heterogenous effects of informal institutions
Community interventions in the administration of justice
Climbing to the Top? How Globalized Competition for Capital Affects Judicial Independence
Adam Smith's “tolerable administration of justice” and the Wealth of Nations
Wielding the Gavel or Balancing the Scales? Domestic Legal Systems and Post-Conflict Justice
Veiled Political Questions
Judicial Independence in Europe
La mise en place du système de jury populaire au Japon
The Origins of Positive Judicial Independence
Who Wants an Independent Court? Political Competition and Supreme Court Autonomy in the Argentine Provinces (1984–2008)
The Costs of Court Curbing
Democratic Backsliding in the American States
Window-Dressing or Window of Opportunity? Assessing the Advancement of Gender Equality in Autocracies
Examining the Development of Judicial Independence
Executive Power and Judicial Deference
Comparative Sources of Judicial Empowerment
Guardians of Democracy or Passive Bystanders? A Conjoint Experiment on Elite Transgressions of Democratic Norms
Can Nations Succeed
Patronal politics, judicial networks and collective judicial autonomy in post-Soviet Ukraine
The Syrian Constitution at the end of the civil war
Power Sharing and the Rule of Law in the Aftermath of Civil War
Terrorism, Democracy, and Credible Commitments1
Political competition and de facto judicial independence in non‐democracies
Informal interference in the judiciary in new democracies
Trials, lustration, and clean elections
The limits to judicial independence
Judicial backsliding
When Judges Defy Dictators
When Do Courts Constrain the Authoritarian State? Judicial Decision-Making in Jordan and Palestine
To Reform or to Retain? Politicians’ Incentives to Clean Up Corrupt Courts in Hybrid Regimes
The Law or the Career? Autocratic Judiciaries, Strategic Sentencing, and Political Repression
Strong Presidents, Robust Democracies? Separation of Powers and Rule of Law in Latin America
Populism and the rule of law
Fixing the Past
Judicial transformation in a competitive authoritarian regime
Re-democratising Nepal
The myth of ‘independent judiciary
Contentious Politics in the Courthouse
The Evolution of Constitutional Adjudication in the Chinese Special Administrative Regions
Judicial Impartiality and Independence in Divided Societies
Domestic legal traditions and states' human rights practices
Sentencing, Judicial Discretion, and Political Prisoners in Pre-War Nazi Germany
Can Courts in Nondemocracies Deter Election Fraud? De Jure Judicial Independence, Political Competition, and Election Integrity
Constitutional Reform and the Gender Diversification of Peak Courts
The Normative and Material Foundations of Judicial Confidence in Bolivia
Judges beyond Politics in Democracy and Dictatorship
Judicial Review in New Democracies
The Political Economy of Public Administration
Courts under Constraints
On Law, Politics, and Judicialization
The Puzzle of Judicial Behavior
The Rights Revolution
The Politics of Constitutional Review in Germany
Politician’s Dilemma
“When the Devil Turns … ”
Congressional Influence on Bureaucracy
The Puzzling (In)Dependence of Courts
A positive theory of statutory interpretation
The Independent Judiciary in an Interest-Group Perspective
CHAPTER Five Commitment Problems and the Spread of Ethnic Conflict
Constitutionalism and Dictatorship
The Struggle for Constitutional Power
Clamping Down on Terrorism in the United Kingdom
The Nonmajoritarian Difficulty
Legislative-Judicial Relations
Information and Judicial Review
Constitutional Review and the Selective Promotion of Case Results
Law and Finance
Constitutions and Commitment
Constitutional Reform in Central and Eastern Europe
Federalism and Central bank Independence
Constitutional Courts and Parliamentary Democracy
Judicial Independence and the Reality of Political Power
A Model of the Endogenous Development of Judicial Institutions in Federal and International Systems
Modeling Motivations
The Persuasive Power of Russian Courts
Towards Juristocracy
Pulling Punches
Constitutional Courts
War as a Commitment Problem
The Constitutional Adjudication Mosaic of Latin America
The Rule of Law and Economic Development
The Politics of Supreme Court Nominations
The Separation of Powers, Court Curbing, and Judicial Legitimacy
Congressional Oversight Overlooked
The High Court of Parliament and its Supremacy
The concept of power
Judicial Independence and Democratization
The Political Foundations of Democracy and the Rule of the Law
The Role of Constitutional Courts in the Establishment and Maintenance of Democratic Systems of Government
Judicial Independence in an Authoritarian Regime
On the Legitimacy of National High Courts
The Logic of Strategic Defection
Neither the Purse Nor the Sword
| Unique citing works | 91 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5,35 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2026 (18) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 88 |