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Measuring Judicial Performance in Latin America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Joseph L. Staats ,
Shaun Bowler  and
Jonathan T. Hiskey
Joseph L. Staats
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science at Texas Tech University
Shaun Bowler
Affiliation:
University of California, Riverside
Jonathan T. Hiskey
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University
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Abstract

An increasing number of development scholars and policymakers are recognizing the importance of Latin American judicial reforms in shaping the ultimate outcome of the region's “dual transition.” We can hardly begin to assess the conditions in which judicial systems are likely to improve, however, unless we have a means to measure judicial performance systematically across countries. This article offers just such a comprehensive cross-national measure of judicial performance for Latin America. Drawing from a survey of Latin American legal scholars and practitioners from 17 countries in the region, it seeks to establish a more valid, and therefore more useful, assessment of the performance of Latin American judiciaries than existing measures, in order to advance efforts to understand the causes and consequences of effective judicial reforms in the region.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 47 , Issue 4 , Winter 2005 , pp. 77 - 106
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2005

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