Judicial Councils Everywhere

In a survey by the CCJE, 80% of member states in the Council of Europe, including the Nordic countries, report having judicial councils despite major differences in the composition and competences of such bodies. The paper discusses different council models building on the Judicial Self-governance (JSG) Index developed by Šipulova at all , focussing on the administration of the highly trusted judiciaries in the Nordic countries. While competences within the personal dimension (appointments, promotions and evaluation of judges etc.) are at the core of the mandate of judicial councils elsewhere in Europe, Nordic court administrations lack such competences. The paper argues that there are considerable grounds for hesitation against adopting a more traditional judicial council model in the Nordic countries. Rather, it is submitted that much more comparative research must be conducted to arrive at one or probably even more reliable models to safeguard judicial independence.