Home >
New Releases >
Law >
Sustaining the Rule of Law: The Future of Judicial Independence in Europe

Sustaining the Rule of Law: The Future of Judicial Independence in Europe

Author: Jasper Krommendijk; Petra Bárd
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781035345465
Published In: October 2025
Format: Hardback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

List Price: S$270.40

S$262.29 Save S$8.11 (3%)

Download Order Form

Add to Wishlist
| Add to Compare

Description
Contents

Details

This timely book examines European and national standards and institutions for sustaining judicial independence and upholding the foundational value of the rule of law. It highlights the nuanced and essential role of independent courts in fostering the shared values of the EU against a background of democratic backsliding.

Contributors present topical insights into how judicial independence has come under pressure in recent years, in the context of backlash against international courts, the (in)effectiveness of human rights, populism and the retreat of multilateralism. But they not only just document systemic judicial capture and scattered violations of judicial independence, but they also explore effective strategies to sustain and restore the independence of courts. Authors adopt a multidisciplinary approach drawing on legal philosophy as well as sociological, empirical, and political science. They fill a gap in the existing literature by focusing on judicial independence rather than broader concerns about the rule of law.

Sustaining the Rule of Law: The Future of Judicial Independence in Europe is an essential resource for scholars and students of constitutional and administrative law, European law, politics, and public policy. It will also be a useful guide for legal practitioners, lawyers who specialize in EU law, and policymakers.

Introduction: sustaining judicial independence 1

Petra Bárd and Jasper Krommendijk

A case for the judicial enforcement of principles 37

Kim Lane Scheppele

Why judicial independence collapses: constitutional identity to Mars, the rule of law to Venus? 58

Violeta Beširević

Sustainable rule of law and democracy: another perspective 79

Zoltán Fleck

Judicial independence: an argument that even populists will love 99

Károly Bárd

The European Commission’s Rule of Law Report in the area of judicial independence 109

Wouter van Ballegooij and Matthias Schmidt

Constitutional avoidance and values enforcement in the European Union: pattern or policy? 138

Barbara Grabowska-Moroz

To catch the wind: the protection of judicial independence by the European Court of Human Rights 164

Rick Lawson

Blowing the rule of law away? Autocratic legalism meets supranational opportunism 186

Dimitry V. Kochenov

10.

Three requirements for developing an independent judiciary in Ukraine: the contribution of the OECD 5th round of monitoring the Ukrainian judiciary (2023–2024) 206

Kees Sterk

11.

The role of the Romanian Judges’ Forum Association in defending the rule of law 221

Dragoș Călin

12.

An accident waiting to happen? Risks of centralized court administration and how to address them 243

Theo Tsomidis

13.

Rebuilding and keeping the rule of law: of signposts, lessons, and our civic fidelities 262

Tomasz Tadeusz Koncewicz

14.

Unpacking judicial resistance: Europe’s national judges and rule of law backsliding 287