Full Description
This book provides unique insights into modern collective judicial decision-making. Courts all over the world sit in panels of several judges, yet the processes by which these judges produce the court's decision differ markedly. Judges from some of the world's most notable judicial bodies, in both the civilian and the common law tradition and from supra-/international courts, share their experiences and reflect on the challenges to which their collective endeavour gives rise. They address matters such as the question of panel constitution, the operation of rapporteur systems, pre-and post-hearing conferences, the hearing procedure itself, the nature of the interaction between the judicial panel and parties' advocates, the extent to which a unitary judgment of the court or at least a single majority judgment is required or deemed desirable, and how it is ultimately arrived at through different voting mechanisms. They allow the reader a unique inside view into the functioning of modern judicial bodies. The judges' chapters are supplemented by a series of comparative analyses and reflections on the lessons to be learnt from them. Collective Judging in Comparative Perspective thus also provides an ideal starting point for thinking about future court design.
Contents
Part I. Designing Collegiate Courts' Decision-Making Processes
Chapter 1. The Fine-Mechanics of Judicial Majoritarianism (p. 1)
Part II. Collegiate Courts in the Common Law Tradition
Chapter 2. Collective Judging in the UK Supreme Court (p. 19)
Chapter 3. Collective Judging in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales (p. 37)
Chapter 4. An Australian Perspective on Collective Judging (p. 47)
Chapter 5. Collegial Decision-Making in the US Courts of Appeals (p. 57)
Part III. Collegiate Courts in the European Civil Law Tradition
Chapter 6. Collective Judging in the French Court de Cassation (p. 127)
Chapter 7. Collective Judging in Germany (p. 141)
Chapter 8. Why is the German Federal Constitutional Court a Deliberative Court, and Why is That a Good Thing? A Comparative Assessment (p. 157)
Chapter 9. Collective Judging at the Swiss Supreme Court (p. 181)
Chapter 10. Decision-Making in Appellate Courts: An Austrian Experience (p. 195)
Part IV. Collegiate Courts in a Non-European Civil Law Jurisdiction: The Case of Japan
Chapter 11: Collective Judging by Collegiate Courts in Japan (p. 205)
Part V. Supranational and International Collegiate Courts
Chapter 12: The Fine-Mechanics of Judicial Decision-Making at the European Court of Human Rights (p. 225)
Chapter 13: Collective Judging in the Court of Justice of the European Union (p. 253)
Chapter 14: The Anatomy of the Deliberation Process at International Criminal Tribunals (p. 267)
Chapter 15: Collective Judging in the Catholic Church (p. 283)
Part VI. Voices from the Audience and Closing Remarks
Chapter 16: Decision-Making by the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office (p. 291)
Chapter 17: Collegiality and Collectivity in Common Law Courts (p. 303)
Chapter 18: Should Judges Tell Us What They Think? (p. 323)
Chapter 19: Beyond Anecdote and Synecdoche (p. 327)
Chapter 20: Concluding Remarks (p. 339)
