Abstract

ELIZONDO MAYER-SERRA, Carlos  and  MAGALONI, Ana Laura. Form is Content: How are Justices Appointed and how do they Decide in the Supreme Court of Justice. Cuest. Const. [online]. 2010, n.23, pp.27-60. ISSN 1405-9193.

Opinion polls show low confidence in the Supreme Court. This article brings attention to some formal issues that impact eh performance and legitimacy of our Court. The starting point of this analysis is that formal questions matter. On one hand, the rules of election and the time in office affect who takes a seat in the Court and with what expectations. On the other hand, the procedure by which the eleven justices reach a decision affects the contents of their ruling. This work is divided into three sections: the first considers what the data from the opinion polls say about confidence in the Supreme Court. The second will consider how the way in which Justices are elected affects who makes it to the Court as Justice and with what kind of professional goals. Finally, we will study how formal aspects of the decision-making process of the Supreme Court affect its ruling, both formal and substantively, and, therefore, the legitimacy of the Court as a whole.

Keywords : Constitutional Law; Comparative Law; Comparative Politics; Procedural Justice; Rules of Decision.

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