Pitfalls in data gathering to assess judiciaries

Abstract

This paper is divided into two parts plus some concluding remarks. The first one deals with some problems in comparing the number of judges, court personnel, and caseflow in European judiciaries. Data come from the Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) of the Council of Europe. The second part deals with some pitfalls in the data gathering carried out by the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) in the attempt to measure judicial independence and accountability. Each case study brings some hints, summed up in the concluding remarks, that may be useful to improve both exercises.