ABSTRACT
This chapter examines three broad contexts that determine its ability: independence, which reflects its ability to be a check on elected officials and laws; authority and effectiveness, which reflects the impact of judicial rulings and actions in the jurisdictions they are made; and citizen access, which measures the judiciary's links with society. It applies these contexts to three case studies – corruption, organized crime, and the environment – to demonstrate the uncertainties involved. Although Latin America's constitutions mandate a balance of power among the three branches of government – executive, legislative, and judicial – the executive branch continues to be dominant. Because the politicization of nominations was long a primary cause for weak independence, another major reform was the establishment of judicial councils to select nominations for judgeships and other positions, such as Attorney General, and, in many cases, to also oversee court functioning.
