Judges in the service of the state?

The monograph „Judges in the Service of the State?“ seeks to explore legal questions connected with selection methods for judges in the highest judicial offices in various countries. These procedures are the first and principal opportunity for governments to exert influence on potential candidates during their terms in office. To understand further how such influence may be exerted, a deep insight into the different national procedures is essential. To achieve this important goal, the publication contains studies of the procedures of more than 15 different states from a wide spectrum of legal systems and cultures. Featured are common law countries like the USA, Australia and the UK, as well as countries with a continental European Law system such as Germany, France, Greece and the Netherlands. The cultural environments chosen for study are quite varied and include not only the Western world, but also Eastern Europe (the Ukraine, Lithuania) and political „hot spots“ like the former Yugoslavia and Israel. In a concluding analytical chapter, the different procedures are analysed and systematized in three groups: election-based systems, appointment-based systems and mixed systems. The monograph is the result of studies undertaken by student members of ELSA, the European Law Students' Association, together with academics from all over Europe and Australia in co-operation with CICC, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court.