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Judges Or Hostages? The Bureaucratization Of The Court Of Justice Of The European Union And The European Court Of Human Rights, Mathilde Cohen Dec 2016

Judges Or Hostages? The Bureaucratization Of The Court Of Justice Of The European Union And The European Court Of Human Rights, Mathilde Cohen

Mathilde Cohen

Court staff occupy a critical position in the administration of justice around the world. They typically represent a diverse corps of subordinated professionals whom judges delegate responsibilities for multiple aspects of their adjudicative and administrative functions. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) are no strangers to this practice. The size and influence of their non-judicial personnel is striking, raising the question of whether judges have become hostages to the bureaucracy in their own courts. Drawing on the emerging field of the sociology of European institutions, this chapter argues that …


On The Linguistic Design Of Multinational Courts — The French Capture, Mathilde Cohen Dec 2015

On The Linguistic Design Of Multinational Courts — The French Capture, Mathilde Cohen

Mathilde Cohen

This Article discusses the importance of language in the institutional design of European and international courts, which I refer to as “linguistic design.” What is at stake in the choice a court’s official or working language? Picking a language has far-reaching consequences on a court’s composition and internal organizational culture, possibly going as far as influencing the substantive law produced. This is the case because language choices impact the screening of the staff and the manufacture of judicial opinions. Linguistic design imposes costs on non-native speakers forced to use a second (or third) language and confers a set of advantages …


Ex Ante Versus Ex Post Deliberations: Two Models Of Judicial Deliberations In Courts Of Last Resort, Mathilde Cohen Dec 2013

Ex Ante Versus Ex Post Deliberations: Two Models Of Judicial Deliberations In Courts Of Last Resort, Mathilde Cohen

Mathilde Cohen

This Article discusses supreme and constitutional courts’ internal organizational cultures, that is, the way in which justices organize their work and establish informal decision-making norms. Courts of last resort are often presented as exemplary deliberative institutions. The conference meeting, which convenes judges in quiet seclusion to debate, has been glorified as the most significant step in a court’s decision-making process. Based in part on qualitative empirical research, I argue, however, that French, American, and European Justices may not deliberate in the full sense that deliberative democrats have theorized. The Article distinguishes two types of high court deliberations, which I call …


On The Linguistic Design Of Multinational Courts—The French Capture, Mathilde Cohen Dec 19

On The Linguistic Design Of Multinational Courts—The French Capture, Mathilde Cohen

Mathilde Cohen

This Article discusses the importance of language in the institutional design of European and international courts, which I refer to as “linguistic design.”  What is at stake in the choice a court’s official or working language? Picking a language has far-reaching consequences on a court’s composition and internal organizational culture, possibly going as far as influencing the substantive law produced.  This is the case because language choices impact the screening of the staff and the manufacture of judicial opinions.  Linguistic design imposes costs on non-native speakers forced to use a second (or third) language and confers a set of advantages …