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International Courts and Public Opinion: Explaining the CJEU's Role in Protecting Terror Suspects' Rights

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  • Michael F. Harsch
  • Vladislav Maksimov

Abstract

Under what conditions can regional and international courts (ICs) make decisions against their governments' preferences? To answer this much debated question, we develop a new, majoritarian model of state‐IC relations. It posits that in cases where well‐established ICs' positions are congruent with policy‐specific public opinion in leading member states, ICs can rule against their governments' position. We apply our approach to a series of landmark decisions by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) regarding United Nations sanctions against terror suspects. We find that the CJEU was able to harness growing public support to strengthen terror suspects' rights, punish states for superficial compliance with its rulings and ultimately broaden the Court's judicial review powers. Our analysis suggests that ICs can be agents of legal change and advance human rights against governments' resistance, but this role is conditional on the presence of public support.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael F. Harsch & Vladislav Maksimov, 2019. "International Courts and Public Opinion: Explaining the CJEU's Role in Protecting Terror Suspects' Rights," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(5), pages 1091-1110, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:57:y:2019:i:5:p:1091-1110
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.12874
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    Cited by:

    1. Michelle Sydes & Lorelei Hine & Angela Higginson & James McEwan & Laura Dugan & Lorraine Mazerolle, 2023. "Criminal justice interventions for preventing radicalisation, violent extremism and terrorism: An evidence and gap map," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), December.

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