Courts and the Making of Public Policy

In the last fifty years, courts have emerged as key participants in the public policymaking process, exercising discretion to make decisions which have far-reaching consequences in terms of the distribution of benefits and burdens within society.

The Courts and the Making of Public Policy programme seeks to provide a critical assessment of the role of courts in policymaking from both empirical and theoretical perspectives, assessing their level of influence and the legitimacy of their involvement.

The programme considers a range of issues within this context, including the relationship between courts, legislatures, and executives; how judicial policymaking fits within a demoratic society; what training and qualifications judges have for policy decisions; and how suitable the judicial forum is for handling the information that is needed for informed policy choices.

Latest Courts publication

The latest report and policy briefs from our conference with the Aspen Institute are now available.

Download Courts and Social Policy in the US publications here

Wolfson College - Linton Road - Oxford - OX2 6UD - Tel: +44 (0)1865 284433