Aksenova, Marina; Ulfstein, Geir --- "The task of regional and international courts in guarding constitutionalism and human rights" [2016] ELECD 710; in Scheinin, Martin; Krunke, Helle; Aksenova, Marina (eds), "Judges as Guardians of Constitutionalism and Human Rights" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016) 352

Book Title: Judges as Guardians of Constitutionalism and Human Rights

Editor(s): Scheinin, Martin; Krunke, Helle; Aksenova, Marina

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781785365850

Section: Chapter 16

Section Title: The task of regional and international courts in guarding constitutionalism and human rights

Author(s): Aksenova, Marina; Ulfstein, Geir

Number of pages: 19

Abstract/Description:

Marina Aksenova, Postdoc, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen and Geir Ulfstein, Professor, Department of Public and International Law, University of Oslo. This concluding chapter sums up the section on international and regional courts and simultaneously draws a line underneath the whole volume. This chapter entertains two interrelated themes – judicial dialogue and legitimacy. The judges engage in domestic, regional and international decision-making by virtue of dialogue, which takes different shapes and forms. The conversations between judges at various levels reflect omnipresent concern for legitimacy, which becomes particularly acute when it comes to international courts relying on the state parties for support and enforcement. What is the role of individual judges in the process of building court’s legitimacy and how do they discharge their functions as protectors of human rights and constitutionalism? Which dilemmas do they face in fulfilling their mandate?