The Political Economy of International Networks of Court

Autor principal:
Udi Sommer (Tel Aviv University)
Programa:
Sesión 1
Día: viernes, 20 de septiembre de 2013
Hora: 09:00 a 11:30
Lugar: E10SEM06

What is the nature of the international network of national constitutional courts? This paper develops a theoretical framework of political economy to analyze this question and tests it empirically with original data of translated opinions. Justices of different nations form an epistemic community, which is congealed due to competition and selectiveness prevalent throughout the judicial career. Translated opinions are pivotal for the communication between members of this epistemic community. Through engaging in a transnational judicial dialogue, and particularly as far as this dialogue concerns legal citations, this community uses international law as a key guide to finding equilibrium solutions to cooperation and coordination problems at national and international levels. Further, out of a large number of sources of international law cited, five overwhelmingly dominate. Finally, the epistemic community affects the respective domestic spheres, which is evident in judicial agendas. Far outnumbering any other type of topics, it is domestic issues that populate those dockets as they are reflected in translated opinions.

Palabras clave: political economy; institutions; international system