The Art of Judicial Reasoning

This book, formed as a series of essays in honour of Professor Carl Baudenbacher, addresses the very art of judicial reasoning, and features contributions from many of the foremost current or former national, supranational, or international judges.

This unique volume is intended first and foremost for legal scholars, but its approachable style makes it readily accessible for students and for those with a general interest in the application of the law and justice in today’s multi-layered world. The collection of essays is rather more philosophical and reflective as opposed to doctrinal. Each contribution focuses on the nature and operation of justice, the independence of the judiciary, and on judicial style primarily from the perspective of the judges themselves. The book provides perspectives on what it means to be accountable and independent as a judge, the role of language and languages in the quest for justice, while other contributions acquaint readers with the some ofthe structures of courts themselves, or indeed question for whom judgments are written.

Each chapter has been written by a presiding judge, or head of an institution and the book is divided into three parts: 

- Part I Art and Method

- Part II Justice and the Judiciary

- Part III Reasoning and Language(s)

“This book is a good starting point for those interested in understanding how judges and legal professionals, especially those holding the highest judicial posts, think of their activity. One of the most valuable aspects of the book is that it allows judges to write in the first person, and to reflect about what makes their work valuable for society, sharing both their ideas and doubts with the rest of us.” (Julen Etxabe, International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, Vol. 32, 2019)

Gunnar Selvik was Registrar of the EFTA Court.

Michael-James Clifton, Theresa Haas, Luísa Lourenço and Kerstin Schwiesow are members of former President Baudenbacher’s cabinet at the EFTA Court.

The contributors to the Festschrift, and their contributions, are: 

HSH The Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein - Foreword

Francis Delaporte - President of the Administrative Court and Vice-President of the Constitutional Court, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. ‘E gudde Noper: A Good Neighbour’

Knut Almestad - Former Ambassador, Oslo, Norway. ‘The Law’

Antonio Tizzano - Vice-President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. ‘European Courts and the Protection of Fundamental Rights’

Toril Marie Øie and Henrik Bull - Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Norway; and Justice of the Supreme Courtof Norway, Oslo, Norway. ‘Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Law: The 2014 Revision of the Norwegian Constitution’

Jean-Luc Baechler assisted by Gian-Flurin Steinegger - President of the Federal Administrative Court; Court clerk, Federal Administrative Court, St. Gallen, Switzerland. ‘A Different Level, a Different Purpose? Reflections on International Criminal Law from the Perspective of Penal Theory’

Sven Erik Svedman - Former President of the EFTA Surveillance Authority, Oslo, Norway. ‘The Enforcement of the EEA Agreement by the EFTA Surveillance Authority: Enhancing Welfare and Prosperity’

Irmgard Griss - Member of the Austrian Parliament, and former President of the Austrian Supreme Court, Vienna, Austria. ‘Judges: Servants of the Law—But Also Servants of Justice?’

Marc Jaeger - President of the General Court of the European Union, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. ‘The EU Judiciary in a New Eraof Accountability’

Paul Mahoney - Former President of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal, and former United Kingdom Judge at the European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg, France. ‘The Acceptability of the Rulings of the European Court of Human Rights’

Georges Ravarani - Judge, European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg, France. ‘Some Reflections on the Legitimacy of the Strasbourg Judge’-

Koen Lenaerts - President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Professor of European Union Law at the University of Leuven (Belgium). ‘On Judicial Independence and the Quest for National, Supranational and Transnational Justice’

Sven Norberg - Former Judge of the EFTA Court, Nyon, Switzerland. ‘Joint Dispute Settlement and Judicial Interpretation: A Precondition for Participation in the EU Internal Market?’

Luis José Diez Canseco Núñez - Dean of the Faculty of Law of the Universidad Tecnológica del Perú, and former President of the Andean Tribunal of Justice, Lima, Peru. ‘Patience and Perseverance in Administering Justice: The Role of a Judge at the Andean Tribunal of Justice’

Vladimir Golitsyn - Former President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, New Canaan, Connecticut, United States of America. ‘Adjudication in Maritime Disputes’

Jean-Claude Wiwinius - President of the Superior Court of Justice and of the Constitutional Court, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. ‘Independence of the Luxembourg Judiciary Through a Council for the Judiciary: A Never-Ending Story’

Benedikt Bogason and Þorgeir Örlygsson - Justice of the Supreme Court of Iceland, and President at the Supreme Court of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland. ‘For Whom Are Judgments Written?’

Anne-José Paulsen - Former President of the Higher Regional Court Düsseldorf, and Vice-President of the Constitutional Court for theLand of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ‘On Understanding and Being Understood: The Judicial System, Communication and the Public’

Vassilios Skouris - Former President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Thessaloniki, Greece. ’Law and Language(s)’

Bo Vesterdorf - Former President of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities, Holte, Denmark. ‘Judicial Reasoning in a Multinational Court’

Marc van der Woude - Vice-President of the General Court of the European Union, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. ‘Is There an Art of Judicial Reasoning at the General Court? Some Modest Comments’ 

Hubertus Schumacher - President of the Princely Supreme Court of Liechtenstein, Innsbruck, Austria. ‘Comparative Law as an Element of Reasoning’  

Peter Freeman - Chairman of the Competition Appeal Tribunal, London, United Kingdom. ‘“Fiat Justitia ruat caelum”. Is This a Good Guide to the Role of a Specialist Appeal Court Judge?’

Andreas Mundt - President of the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt), Bonn, Germany. Antitrust Courts and Economic Findings in Germany