Download This PaperComparative Judicial Politics
28 Pages Posted: 1 Jul 2008
Date Written: October 2004
Abstract
It is hard to think of a political system that does not trumpet its commitment to "the rule of law," based on the principle that citizens are better off when the political system establishes rules for all to follow, rather than subjecting citizens either to arbitrary rule or to anarchy1. By entrusting the interpretation and enforcement of laws to legal specialists, the government agrees to abide by its own laws, and the courts can rule against the government to uphold the "laws of the land." Governments in most political systems are at least rhetorically deferential to this concept.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
John A. Ferejohn
NYU Law School ( email )
40 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012-1099
United States
2129986029 (Phone)
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
A Model of the Endogenous Development of Judicial Institutions
-
The Value of Vagueness: Delegation, Defiance, and Judicial Opinions
By Jeffrey K. Staton and Georg Vanberg
-
Rule Creation in a Political Hierarchy
By Clifford Carrubba and Tom S. Clark
-
The Role of the Legal Status Quo in Supreme Court Decision-Making
-
Law Versus Ideology: The Supreme Court and the Use of Legislative History
By David S. Law and David T. Zaring
-
Executive Discretion, Judicial Decision Making, and Separation of Powers in the United States
-
A Theory of Opinion Writing in a Political Hierarchy
By Tom S. Clark and Clifford Carrubba
-
Accountability and Judicial Performance: Evidence from Case Dispositions
