Judges Against Justice

"Many have long puzzled over how men in robes, presumably committed by trade and professional instinct to "the rule of law," could so regularly and readily bring themselves to enforce the most evil policies of repressive rulers, from Stalin to Saddam Hussein. This penetrating study plumbs that question in greater comparative reach, historical depth, and jurisprudential sophistication than anyone before... Its answers are trenchant and sobering...a tour de force." (Mark Osiel, Aliber Family Chair, College of Law, University of Iowa, November 2014)

This book explores concrete situations in which judges are faced with a legislature and an executive that consciously and systematically discard the ideals of the rule of law. How can we, from a legal point of view, evaluate the actions of judges who contribute to oppression?

This book explores concrete situations in which judges are faced with a legislature and an executive that consciously and systematically discard the ideals of the rule of law. It revolves around three basic questions: What happen when states become oppressive and the judiciary contributes to the oppression? How can we, from a legal point of view, evaluate the actions of judges who contribute to oppression? And, thirdly, how can we understand their participation from a moral point of view and support their inclination to resist?