Political Accountability and the Rule of Law

Abstract

The author highlights the relevance of comparative law in the specific context of political accountability and the rule of law. He first presents different national features to deal with, or prevent, political scandals - free access to information, criminal prosecution, the use of ad-hoc tribunals, and a powerful constitutional court. He goes on to compare the notions of "rule of law" and "Rechtsstaat" in the English and German legal orders, which despite their synonymous use in Article 6 TEU are not quite identical. But comparing them in a European law context may help create a new autonomous concept at European level. © 2011 ERA.