Academic Scientific JournalsFraming an Improved Model for Judicial Reform in Aspiring Member States of the European Union
Keywords:
EU accession, external conditionality, rule of law, judicial reformAbstract
The European Commission in the course of recent years published a set of relevant documents related to the strengthening of the rule of law within the EU. These targeted initiatives are focused on EU Member States, while they almost completely fail to address the negotiations within the accession process of the aspiring Member States. Bearing this in mind, this article aims to challenge the approach taken by some authors who claim that the European conditionality can undermine the rule of law and lead to regulatory fragmentation and fragmented governance. To that end, the paper offers a hybrid model, which the authors want to use to assess the quality of the internal process of strengthening of the rule of law in EU Member States, as well as the quality of the ongoing rule of law related negotiation process in the Republic of Serbia. The offered theoretical model combines elements of the external conditionality, the social learning and lesson-drawing models. Finally, the paper provides certain proposals aimed at improving the framework for judicial reform in aspiring Member States of the European Union.
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