Political Role of Courts and Judges from a European and Comparative Perspective

1 Political Role of Courts and Judges from a European and Comparative Perspective Zuzana Vikarská The submitted dissertation examines European apex courts (i.e. the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights) and aims to answer the research question whether these judicial institutions are political and, if so, in what sense. The author puts forward five perspectives from which the political role of courts and judges can be analysed. The first dimension perceives judges as human beings who are influenced not only by legal rules but also by various non-legal influences, including political ones. In the first dimension, the notion of politics therefore stands in contrast to a certain idea of legal purity and separation of law from politics. This first dimension covers various jurisprudential perspectives on judicial decision-making, but also issues such as transparency of judicial institutions or the quality of judicial reasoning. The second dimension looks at the nomination procedures that lead to judicial appointments at the European apex courts. In this case, politics means the participation of political actors in the process of selecting candidates for the judicial functions. In this meaning, the notion of politics stands in opposition to the notion of expertise. The..