Selection, Appointment, and Legitimacy
Selection, Appointment, and Legitimacy
A Political Perspective
The chapter advances two central arguments about the relationship between appointment and legitimacy with respect to European courts. First, in order for courts to maintain their legitimacy in the eyes of the public and in the eyes of countervailing political branches of government, democratically elected officials must continue to play a central role in the process of judicial selection and appointment. Second, even in a context where the appointment of judges becomes more politicized, this politicization need not undermine the reputation of the courts as independent and impartial arbiters, provided that political influence over judicial appointments is not concentrated in a narrow set of hands or in one period of time.
Keywords: judicial appointments, democracy, legitimacy, political influences, popular support, democratic deficit, judicial councils, majoritarian activism
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