BUILDING LEGITIMATE AND AUTHORITATIVE COURTS: THE SUPREME COURT OF ARGENTINA BETWEEN 2003 AND 2010

GABRIEL PEREIRA

Congreso; General Conference; 2011

European Consortium for Political Research

Democracies in transition face the challenge to establish not only independent but also legitimate and authoritative courts as the enforcement of court rulings depends to great extent on these features. The case of the Supreme Court of Argentina is an appropriate case to study how independent tribunals seek both to be seen as a legitimate institution by society in general, and increase its authority as state institution in context of democratization processes. Between 2003 and 2005 the composition of the Court was consolidated after a period where the Tribunal went through the most serious crisis of legitimacy in its history. Both the newly appointed Judges and some of those who have already been seated publicly anticipated that the Court would recover its institutional role as a state political institution. However, the main challenge the ?new? Court faced was its lack of authority and legitimacy due to its recent political history. In my paper I argue that the Tribunal has developed a successful strategy to reconstruct its power through the recovery of its legitimacy and authority. This strategy can be analyzed through Court relations with the political branches; the judiciary as a whole; and society. Particularly, I show that the Court primarily aimed to change its relationship with society in an attempt to secure a high degree of social support. This last aspect of its strategy indicates a new phenomenon in the Court history as the Court has traditionally focused on its relationship with political branches rather than society. Comparatively, the way that the Court has reshaped its relation with society seems to be distinctive among many courts in western democracies as it has restricted citizens? accessibility but increased Court societal accountability and citizens? participation in the judicial process; and opened direct communication channels with society in general.