The Politization of Courts: Appointments, Preferences and Judicial Behaviour

Abstract

Whether (and to what extent) courts are politicized by political actors or the judges themselves is one of the traditional key questions of political research on courts. This panel examines this question with regard to the appointment of judges, and the judges' preferences and behaviour. Papers deal with national judges’ reluctance to participate in the preliminary ruling procedure before the Court of Justice of the European Union, the judicial-elected branch relations in Paraguay, judicial behavior of General Court judges in EU competition law cases, the impact of political corruption on government attacks on the judiciary, and the selection of judges on the basis of policy preferences or performance indicators.