How actors understand the role of judicial councils in separation of powers? Katarína Šipulová

The paper sets the debate on JSG models against the international and European standards. It argues that there are three different understandings of judicial councils. Domestic elites understand the role and character of judicial councils either as a judicial power authority or a political institution representing all three state powers, or as an independent new regulatory authority (a "fourth branch"). The chapter argues that this understanding of judicial council is reflected in the preferences elites have regarding the composition and independence of a judicial council: who the members are, who selects them, and whose interests they represent and protect. The chapter revisits the Euro model of a judicial council and juxtaposes it against these three understandings, seeking to update the European vision of judicial governance and bring it closer to standing debates on the separation of powers.