This is a past event
'Judicial populism' - A New Phenomenon in the Central Eastern European countries'
Dr Matyas Bencze from the University of Debrecen, Hungary, will speak on 'Judicial populism’ – A New Phenomenon in the Central Eastern European countries', as part of the Law School's research seminar series 2013-14.
According to my underlying assumption, there is an important difference between the judicial attitudes in more established democracies on the one hand and Central Eastern European (CEE) countries on the other. In the former, the dividing line is between ‘judicial activism’ and ‘judicial self-restraint.’ I argue that, in CEE countries, a different distinction is more revealing. In CEE countries, many of the judges tend to decide cases in a way which they consider popular among the ordinary people – even if the decision can hardly be supported by any genuine legal reasons. I call this ‘judicial populism.’ Another group within the judiciary remains more loyal to the law, and sticks to the principles of established judicial practice, even if that makes them unpopular to the point where they have to face heavy criticism or even threats from politicians and journalists.
Experience form Hungary shows that some of the high-profile judicial decisions are heavily influenced by the pressure from the mass media and the emotional reactions of the public. Most worryingly, many judges tend to impose severe sentences on perpetrators coming from ethnic minorities. Usually, they are more lenient when it comes to crimes committed against ethnic minorities.
My goal with the paper is to substantiate my hypothesis that ‘judicial populism’ is a significant feature of the judicial practice in CEE that seriously threatens the ability to maintain the rule of law. I also explore and analyse the sociological conditions that facilitate the emergence of populist judicial attitudes.
- Speaker
- Dr Matyas Bencze
- Hosted by
- School of Law
- Venue
- King's Quad, KQG3