Hardback
Judicial Character in Hard Times
On the Role of Judicial Virtues in Defending the Rule of Law
9781035331918 Edward Elgar Publishing
This insightful book analyses how judges’ intellectual traits and personalities impact the rule of law and the proper performance of judicial roles. Focusing on times of crisis, the book discusses manifestations of judicial character under internal and external pressures, social unrest, and attacks on judges when their status, independence, and impartiality are under strain.
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Critical Acclaim
More Information
This insightful book analyses how judges’ intellectual traits and personalities impact the rule of law and the proper performance of judicial roles. Focusing on times of crisis, the book discusses manifestations of judicial character under internal and external pressures, social unrest, and attacks on judges when their status, independence, and impartiality are under strain.
Chapters consider the fundamental question of what constitutes a good judge, delving into the emerging field of virtue jurisprudence and exploring its connections to virtue ethics. Expert authors reflect on personal qualities that may be especially helpful in hard times, including courage, lawfulness, prudence, integrity, perseverance and empathy, and situate these attributes in the context of European, constitutional and administrative courts. Ultimately, the book argues that the law, as applied by the courts, is greatly impacted by judicial character, the notion of which is best understood through the lens of virtue theory.
Providing novel perspectives on virtue jurisprudence and aretaic theory, this thought-provoking book is an essential resource for academics and students in philosophy of law, legal theory and philosophy and ethics. Its consideration of institutional and practical applications will also greatly benefit lawyers and political scientists working in the field.
Chapters consider the fundamental question of what constitutes a good judge, delving into the emerging field of virtue jurisprudence and exploring its connections to virtue ethics. Expert authors reflect on personal qualities that may be especially helpful in hard times, including courage, lawfulness, prudence, integrity, perseverance and empathy, and situate these attributes in the context of European, constitutional and administrative courts. Ultimately, the book argues that the law, as applied by the courts, is greatly impacted by judicial character, the notion of which is best understood through the lens of virtue theory.
Providing novel perspectives on virtue jurisprudence and aretaic theory, this thought-provoking book is an essential resource for academics and students in philosophy of law, legal theory and philosophy and ethics. Its consideration of institutional and practical applications will also greatly benefit lawyers and political scientists working in the field.
Critical Acclaim
‘Hard times is a scalar description that can cover a wide range of states of affairs, from the erosion of “rule of law” legal and institutional settings to new challenges for the judiciary, such as the supranational practice of judging or political and social polarisation. This book offers detailed and insightful analysis of specific judicial virtues (judicial courage, lawfulness, empathy, independence, deliberative skills, fidelity), useful to face many of those risky situations. The exploration of these and other virtues is pioneering, accurate and well contextualized and proves how judicial virtues are important resources for the practice of law.’
– Isabel Trujillo, University of Palermo, Italy
– Isabel Trujillo, University of Palermo, Italy
