In an experimental study we investigated effects of information amount and legal training on the judgment accuracy in legal cases. In a two (legal training: yes vs. no) x two (information amount: high vs. low) between-subjects design, 90 participants judged the premeditation of a perpetrator in...

How and whether judges should be held accountable is a key issue in the design of a legal system. Thirty-seven of the forty-eight continental states use some method of judicial selection which involves a direct role for citizens in selecting or re-appointing the judiciary. We identify two...

Attorneys elected to the US House of Representatives and to US state legislatures are systematically less likely to vote in favor of tort reforms that restrict tort litigation, but more likely to support bills that extend tort law. This finding is based on the analysis of 54 votes at the federal...

The market for law professors fulfils the conditions for a hog cycle: in the short run, supply cannot be extended or limited; future law professors must be hired soon after they first present themselves, or leave the market; demand is inelastic. Using a comprehensive German dataset, we show that...

In the Gebhard judgement the European Court of Justice has formulated the requirements which must be satisfied for self-regulatory restrictions on entry (such as the protection of titles and compulsory membership of public professional bodies) to be compatible with the fundamental freedoms...

Judges' ideas, beliefs, and values are central to adjudication. Empowering the courts was a crucial step in third-wave democracies and, after some unfulfilled promises regarding the potential of the judicialization of politics for rights expansion, we need to learn more about the individuals...

Am Beispiel der Schweizer Justizinitiative zeigen wir auf, dass eine qualifizierte Losauswahl keineswegs irrational ist, sondern zu einer Rationalität auf einer übergeordneten, institutionellen Ebene führen kann. Sie erhöht die Wahrscheinlichkeit, ausgezeichnete Kandidierende für eine...

Victims want to collect damages from injurers. Cases differ with respect to the judgment. Attorneys observe the expected judgment, clients do not. Victims need an attorney to sue; defense attorneys reduce the probability that the plaintiff prevails. Plaintiffs' attorneys offer contingent fees...

We present new data documenting medieval Europe’s Commercial Revolution” using information on the establishment of markets in Germany. We use these data to test whether medieval universities played a causal role in expanding economic activity, examining the foundation of Germany’s first...