Publication details

The Illusion of Merit-Based Judicial Selection in Post-Communist Judiciary: Evidence from Slovakia

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Authors

SPÁČ Samuel

Year of publication 2020
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Problems of Post-Communism
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Law

Citation
Web Open access časopisu
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2020.1806080
Keywords xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Attached files
Description Judges all around the world, including in post-communist Europe, have become increasingly involved in the administration of judiciaries. Judicial self-governance is believed to secure greater judicial independence and merit-based decision-making regarding judicial careers. This article analyzes 126 examples of selection procedures at Slovak district courts that were held between 2012 and 2015 and finds that judge-dominated selection committees prefer candidates who can be expected to replicate the existing system. Candidates’ social and judicial cultural capital, either knowing someone in the selection committee or having a family member working as a judge, serve as vehicles for such preferences.
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