Judges beyond Politics in Democracy and Dictatorship
Lessons from Chile

This book analyzes Chilean judicial behavior before, during, and after authoritarian rule.

Lisa Hilbink (Author)

9781107402362, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 26 May 2011

316 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.47 kg

Review of the hardback: 'Lisa Hilbink's new book, Judges beyond Politics in Democracy and Dictatorship: Lessons from Chile, responds to one of the central questions of … recent research: when will judges act to bolster democracy and individual rights and when will they act to bolster authoritarianism and impunity? She provides a compelling response to this question based on the Chilean case.' Journal of Politics

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 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.

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
Appendixes.

Subject Areas: Law & society [LAQ], Hispanic & Latino studies [JFSL4]