Dilemma’s that individual judges face in safeguarding their independence

Judges' dilemma’s in safeguarding their independence. Comparing the cases of Poland and the Netherlands Nienke Doornbos, Nina Holvast & Marc de Werd Discussant: Michał Stambulski (University of Wroclaw, Erasmus University Rotterdam)

In many European countries the judicial work has changed in the last decades. In West-European countries the judiciary is nowadays regarded as a public service provider governed by managerial values, in other, East-European, countries the judiciary is primarily seen as an instrument of government. Both of these changes alter the manner in which judges conduct their work , limiting their autonomy and independence. This new work setting poses challenges to judges in conducting their work. While ethical standards and guidelines still regard judges as autonomous decision-makers, a large part of the autonomy is shifted to court managers and/or politicians. In this article we explore some of the ethical dilemma’s judges face in their new role as hybrid professionals by looking at two case studies of a judiciary (Poland and the Netherlands). We find that, in tackling these dilemma’s, the current systemic safeguards offer judges little support in securing their independent position. In order to recognize systemic flaws in the independence of the judiciary, in legal education much more attention has to be paid to the organizational and institutional dimension of ethical judicial decision making.

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