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Judges beyond Politics in Democracy and Dictatorship Lessons from Chile
By
ELisabeth Hilbink
Description
Why did formerly
independent Chilean judges, trained under and appointed by democratic
governments, facilitate and condone the illiberal, antidemocratic,
and anti-legal policies of the Pinochet regime? Challenging the
common assumption that adjudication in non-democratic settings is
fundamentally different and less puzzling than it is in democratic
regimes, this book offers a longitudinal analysis of judicial
behavior, demonstrating striking continuity in judicial performance
across regimes in Chile. The work explores the relevance of judges\\\\\\\'
personal policy preferences, social class, and legal philosophy, but
argues that institutional factors best explain the persistent failure
of judges to take stands in defense of rights and rule of law
principles. Specifically, the institutional structure and ideology of
the Chilean judiciary, grounded in the ideal of judicial apoliticism,
furnished judges with professional understandings and incentives that
left them unequipped and disinclined to take stands in defense of
liberal democratic principles, before, during, and after the
authoritarian interlude.
Contents
Introduction; 1.
The judiciary, the rule of law, and democracy: aspirations and
impediments; 2. The institutional construction and the judicial role
in Chile; 3. Conservative activism in the heyday of democracy, 1964
to 1973; 4. Legitimizing authoritarianism, 1973 to 1990; 5.
Continuity and change after the return of democracy, 1990 to 2000; 6.
Conclusions and implications; Appendix A: Orienting information on
Chilean law and courts; Appendix B: List of interviewees.
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