This article examines the marginalized yet politically potent fringe of the legal profession—lawyers who neither represent commercial interests nor serve as state functionaries, but who dedicate their practice to advancing the interests of the poor and disenfranchised.
David Kennedy’s critical legal scholarship challenges the traditional monopoly lawyers and legal scholars hold over defining law’s purpose, highlighting law as a form of political struggle rather than a neutral system.
This article argues that attorneys have a duty to act as guardians of justice in a legal order fraught with moral ambiguity and political pressure.
B.C. Smith, Judges and Democratization: Judicial Independence in New Democracies (2nd ed.). Oxfordshire: Routledge, 2022. Summary: This second edition examines judicial independence as an aspect of democratization based on the premise that democracy cannot be consolidated without the rule of law of which judicial independence is an indispensable part. It pays particular attention to the …
Hans Petter Graver, “Judging Without Impunity: On the Criminal Responsibility of Authoritarian Judges”. Bergen Journal of Criminal Law & Criminal Justice, vol. 4, no.1 (2016): 125-49. Summary: The purpose of this article is to examine how far, with due respect for the rule of law, criminal sanctions could be applied to judges for the exercise …
Tamir Moustafa, “Law and Courts in Authoritarian Regimes.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science, vol. 10, no.1 (2014): 281–299. Summary: This article surveys emerging research on the role of courts in authoritarian regimes, challenging earlier assumptions that they function solely as instruments of repression. It highlights how courts can serve as tools of governance, …
Margaret L Satterthwaite, “Unchecking Power and Capturing Courts: How Autocratization Erodes Independent Judicial Systems.” Rutgers University Law Review, vol. 76 (2023): 1147-1188. Summary: This article addresses the critical role of an independent and effective judiciary in safeguarding democracy amid rising global autocratization. It highlights how autocratic and authoritarian leaders—often initially elected—use a range of strategies …
J. Yam, “Judging Under Authoritarianism.” Mod Law Rev., vol. 87, no.4 (2024): 894-925. Summary: Authoritarianism has significant implications for how judges should discharge their duties. How should judges committed to constitutionalism conduct themselves when under authoritarian pressure? To answer this question, the article proposes a two-step adjudicative framework, documents a variety of judicial strategies, and …
Hans Petter Graver, Judges Against Justice: On Judges When the Rule of Law is Under Attack. New York City: Springer, 2014. Summary: This book explores concrete situations in which judges are faced with a legislature and an executive that consciously and systematically discard the ideals of the rule of law. It revolves around three basic questions: …
This book explores the global role of lawyers and the broader “legal complex” as central actors in the struggle for political liberalism.