The Judge in a Democracy

This book offers a plethora of intriguing examples of practical reason in the service of an eclectic mix of justice ethically conceived and of law as a body of rules and principles that bind us even when power is lacking to enforce those norms. Few jurists in the world have regularly confronted the kinds of seemingly impossible conundrums that Barak has with amazing frequency managed to turn into surprisingly agreeable outcomes. -- Laurence Tribe, Harvard University, author of "American Constitutional Law" A remarkable work by a remarkable jurist. A most important contribution to our understanding of the role of a judiciary in a democracy, this book will be of wide appeal to judges, legal scholars, and law students, as well as political theorists and others interested in the law and legal institutions. -- Frank Iacobucci, retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada This book provides a candid and elaborate account by a leading supreme court justice on his craft of judging. Aharon Barak discusses some of the most important (and controversial) jurisprudential questions and demonstrates the ways in which he has put his convictions on these matters into action in shaping Israeli jurisprudence. As such, The Judge represents a valuable encounter of legal theory and judicial practice. Judges and scholars associated with new constitutional courts will find the book instructive. American judges and scholars, in turn, will see it as a powerful antithesis to the approach of another prominent jurist, Justice Antonin Scalia of the United States Supreme Court. -- Hanoch Dagan, Tel-Aviv University Faculty of Law School, author of "The Law and Ethics of Restitution"

Whether examining election outcomes, the legal status of terrorism suspects, or if (or how) people can be sentenced to death, a judge assumes a role that raises some of the contentious political issues of our day. This title sets forth a vision of the role of the judge.Whether examining election outcomes, the legal status of terrorism suspects, or if (or how) people can be sentenced to death, a judge in a modern democracy assumes a role that raises some of the most contentious political issues of our day. But do judges even have a role beyond deciding the disputes before them under law? What are the criteria for judging the justices who write opinions for the United States Supreme Court or constitutional courts in other democracies? These are the questions that one of the world's foremost judges and legal theorists, Aharon Barak, poses in this book. In fluent prose, Barak sets forth a powerful vision of the role of the judge. He argues that this role comprises two central elements beyond dispute resolution: bridging the gap between the law and society, and protecting the constitution and democracy. The former involves balancing the need to adapt the law to social change against the need for stability; the latter, judges' ultimate accountability, not to public opinion or to politicians, but to the "internal morality" of democracy. Barak's vigorous support of "purposive interpretation" (interpreting legal texts--for example, statutes and constitutions--in light of their purpose) contrasts sharply with the influential "originalism" advocated by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. As he explores these questions, Barak also traces how supreme courts in major democracies have evolved since World War II, and he guides us through many of his own decisions to show how he has tried to put these principles into action, even under the burden of judging on terrorism.