A Framework for Comparative Judicial Selection Research With an Application to Gender Diversity on High Courts

Abstract

This paper develops framework for categorizing and analyzing the judicial selection systems in an attempt to encompass judiciaries from multiple legal traditions. This approach allows for researchers to categorize countries based on the actors involved in selecting judges as well as other related selection factors that are important for understanding the relationship between judicial selection and judicial independence. Among these factors are the following: 1) qualification requirements, 2) term length and mandatory retirement, and 3) removal procedures. The result is a parsimonious system that allows researchers to capture the critical differences between judicial selection systems using a common language. This paper concludes with a preliminary empirical application of this framework to the topic of gender diversity in Europe’s high courts.

Keywords: judicial selection