American experience of providing judges personal independence

Abstract

This article focuses on the American experience of guaranteeing decisional indepen­dence of judges. Historically the United States turned to be the pioneer in the area of leg­islative regulation of the status of judiciary power. With forming the normative base of both functioning of judiciary and the status of judges the following factor (which was repeatedly emphasized by the Founding Fathers) was taken into consideration: actual separation of powers is impossible without independent judiciary, and thus institutional independence of judiciary is impossible without decisional independence of individual judges. The article includes some comments of American judges regarding the essence generating prestige and institutional independence of the American judiciary and the qualities necessary for a good judge. The article also describes the doctrine of judicial activism.