APPOINTING JUDGES THE EUROPEAN WAY

Authors

Mary L. Volcansek, Texas Christian University

Keywords

Judges, Judicial Appointment, Judicial Selection, Commissions, Principles, independence, accountability, representativeness, legitimacy, transparency, Pennsylvania

Abstract

This Article looks at methods of judicial selection in Europe as a way to contrast and perhaps better understand and improve the systems of judicial selection used in the United States. The article argues that in Europe, judicial independence is prized above and beyond any other possible positive trait. The democratic legitimacy of European judges derives from the intimate connection between democracy and the rule of law. Legitimacy does not attach, in the public eye, to a single political institution, but rather to the system as a whole.

Recommended Citation

Mary L. Volcansek, APPOINTING JUDGES THE EUROPEAN WAY, 34 Fordham Urb. L.J. 363 (2007).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ulj/vol34/iss1/19