Guarding the Guardians: Judicial Councils and Judicial Independence

This article uses comparative evidence to inform the ongoing debate about the selection and discipline of judges. In recent decades, many countries around the world have created judicial councils, institutions designed to maintain an appropriate balance between judicial independence and accountability. This article presents a comprehensive view of common-law judicial appointment commissions and civil-law high judicial councils. This articles aims to: (1) provide a theory of the formation of judicial councils and identify some of the dimensions along which they differ and (2) test the extent to which different designs of judicial council affect judicial quality.
Keywords: Judicial/ Judiciary, Judicial Council, Judicial Independence/ Judiciary Independence, Academic Article.