The Power of Judges: A Comparative Study of Courts and Democracy (Oxford Socio-Legal Studies)

This book argues that three elements affect the political significance of judicial decisions. First is the status of judges (the way they are recruited and the guarantees they enjoy) and the way judges define their role in the judicial and political process. Second is the organization of the judicial system, including the existence of judicial review of legislation, the structure of trials and the arrangement of public prosecution. Thirdly, judicial power is affected by the broader political system: a polity in which power is divided and fragmented offers wider opportunities for the judiciary to intervene in the political process.

Professor Guarnieri is working at the Dipartimento di organizzazione e sistema politico, Bologna, Italy (Both authors are presently working at a book on cases and judicial policy-making in Latin Europe to be published by the Italian publisher, Laterza) Professor Pederzole is working at the Dipartimento di organizzazione e sistema politico, Bologna, Italy.