Concept
Judicial independence
Overview
Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government, meaning that courts should not be subject to improper influence from those branches or from private or partisan interests. Judicial independence is an important component of the separation of powers.
Different countries deal with the idea of judicial independence through different means of judicial selection, that is, choosing judges. One method seen as promoting judicial independence is by granting life tenure or long tenure for judges, as it would ideally free them to decide cases and make rulings according to the rule of law and judicial discretion, even if those decisions are politically unpopular or opposed by powerful interests. This concept can be traced back to 18th-century England.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
Found by search and not yet checked by a person; they may only mention the idea in passing.
Sometimes what is called the constitution of the state, that is, the interest of the government; sometimes of the interest of particular orders of men who tyrannize the government, warp the positive laws of the country from what natural justice would prescribe. In some countries, the rudeness and barbarism of the people hinder the natural sentiments of justice from arriving at that accuracy and precision which, in…
Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
States what Judicial independence is.
All courts shall appoint their own clerks, who shall hold their offices during good behavior, or the existence of their court; they shall also appoint all other attending officers to continue during their pleasure. Clerks appointed by the supreme or superior courts shall be removable by their respective courts. Those to be appointed by other courts shall have been previously examined, and certified to be duly…
Thomas Jefferson, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 8
Close in meaning to Judicial independence; the term itself is not named.
A praetor, therefore, was appointed to administer it in his stead. In the progress of the European monarchies, which were founded upon the ruins of the Roman empire, the sovereigns and the great lords came universally to consider the administration of justice as an office both too laborious and too ignoble for them to execute in their own persons. They universally, therefore, discharged themselves of it, by…
Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
Close in meaning to Judicial independence; the term itself is not named.
Related ideas
- John Adams
- Glorious Revolution
- Hong Kong
- Jurisprudence
- Middle Ages
- Lord Chancellor
- President of the United States
- United States Senate
- Rule of law
- Separation of powers
- Constitution of the United States
- Supreme Court of the United States
- United Nations
- Kingdom of England
- Canada
- The Economist
- Common law
- China
- Founding Fathers of the United States
- Montesquieu
- South China Morning Post
- Chinese Communist Party
- Court
- Democracy
Opposing perspectives
Place in the tradition
Part of Authoritarianism.