Conceptualising Judicial Independence and Accountability from a Regulatory Perspective

Abstract

This article builds on a comparative study of judicial conduct regulation regimes in India and the United Kingdom. It critically assesses judicial independence and accountability from a regulatory perspective. The article argues that judicial independence and accountability have three essential dimensions: individual, internal and institutional. Therefore, the legal frameworks that set up and support regulatory regimes must adequately emphasise all three dimensions. However, the legal frameworks in India and the UK mostly focus on institutional independence, underemphasising individual independence in the process, while internal judicial independence has been a vanishing point of jurisprudence in both jurisdictions. Similarly, there are notable gaps in the accountability frameworks of both countries.