This article, ‘The global expansion of judicial power’ focuses on the transformation of judicial systems of Italy and Germany since the end of the World War II with the aim of making them independent from political affiliations and inclination. In the process of doing this, the article describes the origin of judicial transformation to its present condition. This paper, therefore gives a critical review of the main pointed contained in the article.
According to the article, the traditional Italian judiciary was similar in structure to the judicial organizations in the continental Europe. Despite a few adjustments here and there, the status quo did not change much until the end of the Second World War when the mandates of public prosecutor and judges were reinforced. However, the judges faced opposition from the consolidated politicians until 1959 when things finally changed (Tate, and Torbjorn 245).
Similarly, Germany had a comparatively the same judicial system like Italy before the end of the Second World War. The body charged with the responsibility of making laws that governed the country was the constitutional court that comprised a few judges. Just like Italy, it was until later at the end of the Second World War that Germany developed a definite judicial system consisting of judges that were independent from other external bodies.
Another important aspect worth noting from the scenarios of Italy and Germany is the fact that both their judicial systems gained growth momentum after the end of the Second World War. This was championed by numerous events that followed the war including the cold war. The events that followed the war gave elaborate boundaries between political forces like parliament (whose democratic legitimacy and fairness were questionable) and the courts. As a result, the judicial systems became liberalized and were focused towards providing free and fare judgments and making policy decisions to serve all equally. In addition to that, the political forces were compelled to abide by the emerging trends of judicial freedom (Tate, and Torbjorn 319).
Conclusion
In as much as the periods after the end of the second world war have marked a series of changes in the judicial systems of not only Italy and Germany but also other countries across the globe, it is important to note that political affiliations still plays an integral part in influencing judicial decisions. In Italy, for instance, the judicial system enjoys a substantive degree of institutional freedom and yet has a rather inadequate autonomy of action. It is therefore imperative that critical measures are taken to ensure that judicial systems are fully independent in order to uphold judicial credibility.
Work Cited
Tate, Chester N. and Torbjorn, V. The Global Expansion of Judicial Power. New York [u.a.: New York University Press, 1995. Print.
