The judiciary in a free society

Abstract

There is increasing debate about the “crisis of the judiciary”, although in modern societies this expression (independent from its concrete content) specifically designates the crises of liberal democratic justice, or, it could be said, the crises of the judiciary in liberal and democratic society. Thus, any discussion about the “crisis of the judiciary” appears to demand a contextual framing that helps to clarify the place occupied by the judicial branch in societies such as ours. This article seeks to elucidate this context, from the political and constitutional point of view. The perspective of the History of Political Thinking is considered the most useful, to the degree to which it points to the origin of the intellectual foundation not only of modern judicial power, but of modern society as a whole. In this article, John Locke and Montesquieu are presented as two essential authors because they have made an indelible contribution to this dual structure.