Centennial Honors College
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2014
Poster Presentation
How is Judicial Independence Established
And Maintained in Constitutional Democracies?
Mark Dasher
Faculty Mentor: Kimberly J. Rice
Political Science
Judicial independence is the ability of a judiciary to rule freely without interference or
control from the other branches of government. The freedom of a judicial branch to rule
over laws is vital to the success of a democracy. Given this, how is judicial
independence established and maintained in constitutional democracies? To answer
this question I have reviewed comparative studies of judicial independence in the United
States, Italy, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Argentina, Malawi, and Zambia. When carefully
compared and studied, the various theories presented from numerous authors forms a
cohesive set of criteria for establishing and maintaining judicial independence. The new
hybrid theory that I have created is applicable to democracies across four continents,
which are diverse in both development and wealth. Through my study of past research,
I have found that the five factors that allow for the establishment and maintenance of
judicial independence are: 1) Constitutionally created checks and balances 2) public
support 3) governmental transparency 4) continued and competitive elections, and 5)
public capability to influence elections. My research shows how this set of criterion was
established, the history of theories of judicial independence, and how these theories
have been applied to case studies of the countries listed above. This research is
important, then, not only to the study of law and courts but also to comparative politics.