POLS0113: Judicial Politics

Module Convenor

Dr Michal Ovádek

Modified

26 September 2024

This is a website for the module POLS0113: Judicial Politics convened at the Department of Political Science, University College London by Dr Michal Ovádek.

Description

This course provides a detailed exploration of judicial politics across a variety of political systems. As predominantly non-majoritarian institutions, both domestic and international courts have become increasingly contested in recent years. We will seek to understand the importance and behaviour of courts from different angles: judiciaries’ place in democratic theory, the design of judicial institutions, and judges’ interactions with other political actors and society more broadly. Among others, we will be delving into why and how politicians balance delegating decision-making to courts with constraining their room for manoeuvre through appointment procedures and threat of override. We will also compare the institutional features of judiciaries across different political contexts, from democracies to autocracies and from presidential to parliamentary systems. The aim is to equip students with a clear understanding of courts as both subjects and objects of their political environment.

Module Name Judicial Politics
Module Code POLS0113
Module Convenor Dr Michal Ovádek
Faculty Social and Historical Sciences
Department Political Science
Credits 15
Assessment 3000-word research paper (100%)

Timetable

The first lecture takes place on 13 January 2024. The last lecture is on 24 March 2024. There are no classes during the reading week.

Weeks What When Where
21–25, 27–31 Lecture Monday, 15:00–16:00 Room 114, Foster Court, Gower Street
21–25, 27–31 Seminar Monday, 16:00–17:00 G04 (Council Room), 29 Tavistock Square

Student support and feedback hours take place after the seminar in Room 202, 36 Gordon Square.