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Changes in the Legitimacy of the European Court of Justice: A Post-Maastricht Analysis

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  • GIBSON, JAMES L.
  • CALDEIRA, GREGORY A.

Abstract

Little is known about how ordinary Europeans feel about the central policy-making institutions of the European Union (EU). This has encouraged us to analyse mass attitudes towards the legitimacy of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Relying on a cross-time (1992–93) panel analysis, as well as a cross-institutional analysis (the ECJ, the European Parliament and the high courts of the member states), we discover that (a) the ECJ does not possess a surplus of legitimacy, and it is doubtful whether the legitimacy shortfall is only a short-term function of the row over Maastricht; (b) attitudes toward the ECJ, although in the aggregate fairly stable, changed significantly over the one-year panel survey; (c) the European Parliament has little legitimacy it can share with the ECJ; and (d) although the national high courts do have greater legitimacy, there is little evidence that they are capable of transferring that legitimacy to the ECJ. We conclude with some speculation about whether the ECJ will be able to build greater legitimacy, and the consequences for the EU if the court fails to do so.

Suggested Citation

  • Gibson, James L. & Caldeira, Gregory A., 1998. "Changes in the Legitimacy of the European Court of Justice: A Post-Maastricht Analysis," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(1), pages 63-91, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:28:y:1998:i:01:p:63-91_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Benjamin Werner, 2016. "Why is the Court of Justice of the European Union not more Contested? Three Mechanisms of Opposition Abatement," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(6), pages 1449-1464, November.
    2. Tracy H. Slagter, 2009. "National Parliaments and the ECJ: A View from the Bundestag," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47, pages 175-197, January.
    3. James L. Gibson, 2007. "The Legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court in a Polarized Polity," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 4(3), pages 507-538, November.
    4. Tracy H. Slagter, 2009. "National Parliaments and the ECJ: A View from the Bundestag," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 175-197, January.
    5. Tom S. Clark, 2009. "The Separation of Powers, Court Curbing, and Judicial Legitimacy," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(4), pages 971-989, October.
    6. John Hagan & Sanja Kutnjak Ivković, 2006. "War Crimes, Democracy, and the Rule of Law in Belgrade, the Former Yugoslavia, and Beyond," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 605(1), pages 129-151, May.
    7. James L. Gibson & Gregory A. Caldeira, 2009. "Confirmation Politics and The Legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court: Institutional Loyalty, Positivity Bias, and the Alito Nomination," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(1), pages 139-155, January.
    8. Juan A. Mayoral, 2017. "In the CJEU Judges Trust: A New Approach in the Judicial Construction of Europe," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 551-568, May.
    9. Clifford J. Carrubba, 2003. "The European Court of Justice, Democracy, and Enlargement," European Union Politics, , vol. 4(1), pages 75-100, March.

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