Public Epistemic Authority: Normative Institutional Design for EU Law

Inter- and supranational courts gain legitimacy from judges' expertise and judicial procedures. Johann Laux introduces Public Epistemic Authority (PEA) as a normative category to assess judicial outcomes and improve the institutional design of these courts. PEA focuses on judges' collective ability to identify breaches of law through cognitive tasks in adjudication.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 483 pages
Publication date: 30 June 2022
Publisher: JCB Mohr (Paul Siebeck)

Inter- and supranational courts find their legitimacy in part through an institutional comparison. Judges' legal expertise and the excellence of judicial procedures support a court's claim to authority over other branches of government and other courts with overlapping jurisdiction. To establish a benchmark for evaluating judicial outcomes that aligns with democratic commitments, Johann Laux proposes a novel normative category called Public Epistemic Authority (PEA). This concept builds upon the mechanisms underlying theories of collective intelligence and empirical research on judicial decision-making. PEA focuses on judges' collective capacity to accurately identify legal violations. It emphasizes cognitive tasks in adjudication. The author applies PEA to the Court of Justice of the European Union and offers recommendations for enhancing its institutional design.

Inter- and supranational courts derive their legitimacy partly from an institutional comparison. Judges' legal expertise and the quality of judicial procedures justify a court's claim to authority towards other branches of government and other courts with overlapping jurisdiction. To provide a benchmark for assessing judicial outcomes that is compatible with democratic commitments, Johann Laux suggests a new normative category, Public Epistemic Authority (PEA). It builds on the mechanisms behind theories of collective intelligence and empirical research on judicial decision-making. PEA tracks judges' collective ability to reliably identify breaches of law. It focuses on cognitive tasks in adjudication. The author applies PEA to the Court of Justice of the European Union and offers suggestions for improving its institutional design.

Weight: 720g
ISBN-13: 9783161600692