Autonomy of the judge in theory and practice- Strengthening the independent judiciary
Short description
The starting point of this project is the predominant assumption that the independence of courts requires
independent, and hence autonomous, judges. The traditional idea is represented by Rawls "veil of ignorance",
where the judge is cut out of context and relations. As this idea of autonomy is defined and discussed as an ideal
we argue that autonomy should be explored in practice with another perception, lived autonomy, rooted in
everyday life needs to be explored.
The project aims to explore how autonomy of judges is described in legal procedural discourse and embodied and performed in practice by judges, using the traditional idea of autonomy and lived autonomy as theoretical tools.
The project runs for three years, and addresses 3 research questions:
1) How is autonomy described normatively in legal discourse?
2) How do judges discursively (in interviews) perceive and interpret autonomy?
3) How is autonomy performed in practice?
Procedural legal doctrine will be analysed, 50-70 judges will be studied by shadowing and interviews on their perceptions and embodiment of autonomy. The project is the first to study the autonomy of the judge in procedural literature and performed in practice combined. In this way, it contributes to knowledge on the judges’ own perception of how to adopt, perform and display and embody autonomy in a reflexive and systematic way, that equip and prepare judges with increased resilience towards threats that targets the independence of the courts.
Publications/Articles
Wanna Svedberg Andersson & Moa Bladini (2021), ‘Autonomy and Beyond – Voluntariness in the Light of Lived Autonomy’, Special issue Dead or Alive? Contemproary and Future Approaches to Nordic Critical Legal Theory, in Retfærd, Nordic Journal of Law and Justice 3, 35-49, 2021.
Moa Bladini & Wanna Svedberg Andersson (2021) 'Swedish rape legislation from use of force to voluntariness – critical reflections from an everyday life perspective', in Special Issue on Rape laws in the Nordic Countries, in Bergen Journal of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 8(2) 95-125, 2021. https://boap.uib.no/index.php/BJCLCJ/article/view/3241/3133
Conferences
2024
NoPSA 2024: Workshop 19: The Politics of Law and Courts, Bergen, Norway 25 June 2024
Presentation: Exploring the Autonomous Judge Through the Lens of Lived Autonomy.
2023
Conference/Workshop: Judicial Politics in Scandinavia, Gothenburg 22-23 August 2023
Presentation: Autonomy of the judge in theory and practice - Strengthening the independent judiciary
2022
Conference: Judges Under Stress, the Breaking Point of Judicial Institutions, Oslo 17-18th of November 2022
Presentation: Autonomy of the judge in theory and practice - Strengthening the independent judiciary
External work
The Courts and Prosecution Unit at the Ministry of Justice, Gothenburg, 4 October 2024 Presentation: The autonomy of the judge. For the independence of the court.