DDRO 25A42 - Comparative Judicial Politics: Governing with Judges

The Comparative Judicial Politics course will examine core political science questions concerning judicial decision making and judicial power: What explains the judicialization of politics? To what extent do ideological and strategic considerations influence how judges decide cases? Under what conditions are courts able to constrain other political actors? What is the policy impact of judicial decisions and what can judges do to increase their impact? This is not a course on constitutional adjudication, and the focus will not be on doctrinal analysis or close reading of cases (though cases will be discussed to illustrate and examine the topics of the course). Instead, courts will be conceptualized as political institutions and judges as political actors. The course will cover topics such as the government of judges, constraints on judicial power; conflicts between constitutional courts and the other branches of government; decision making within the judicial hierarchy; judicial appointments. After having examined the fundamentals of constitutional courts, the course will compare models of judicial review through various case studies: the USA strong model, the Kelsenian model as applied in France, Italy, Germany and Spain, the Commonwealth and the Nordic weak models, the Irish hybrid model, the Latin America model(s), the Canadian and Israeli activist models, the new democracies model(s). The course will finally address contemporary challenges to judicial review such as popular constitutionalism and the lack of diversity on the bench.

All course materials will be uploaded on the Sciences Po Moodle.

The module is run as a seminar. That means that everyone is expected to attend every class having completed the readings, ready to participate.

The assessment will consist of two marks:

• 40% of final mark: A mark will assess the quality and regularity of students’ participation in class and their understanding of, and ability to respond to, the assigned readings each week.
• 60% of final mark: a final take-home examination to be submitted within a strict time limit while working off-campus. 2 or 3 essay questions. Students are allowed to consult their own notes, course texts and other materials as with open book exams. The length of papers is limited to a set number of words to ensure fairness among students.