International Courts and Their Judges: Book Review
Criminal Law Forum (2012) 23:223–228
6 Pages Posted: 9 Sep 2012
Date Written: 2012
Abstract
Courts are only as good as the people sitting on the bench. This is true for national as well as international courts, with the caveat that the legal officers/clerks of national supreme or international courts may to some extent compensate for the limited competence of the judges they work for. This does not mean, though, that the qualification of the judges should in any way be compromised by political considerations. Unfortunately, as everyone with some experience in the national or international judiciary knows, the reality is different. Take for example the case of Germany, a consolidated democracy with a high regard for its judiciary and jurisprudence, where party affiliation is an important, sometimes indispensable requirement to become a supreme or constitutional court judge or Federal Prosecutor-General. As the Spanish example shows at least formal party affiliation could be forbidden for judges. In any case, if (party) politics influences the election of judges to the supreme courts on the national level, what then is to be expected from the international judiciary?
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