The essays collected in this special issue explore the possibilities and challenges of legitimate judicial authority. Through their exchanges, the authors develop arguments, pose critical questions and explore possible answers about what courts do, how they interact with each other and how in turn their practices are embedded in wider legal, political and social institutional environments. The contributions constructively challenge both older and more recent approaches to legitimacy, the rule of law and the role of courts. As the introduction posits, 'the discussions in this special issue also caution against discourses about the legitimacy of global (judicial) governance and the international rule of law that ultimately are more about legitimation than about legitimacy and more about new ways of ruling than the rule of law'. 

Dedication

The special issue Judicial Authority, Legitimacy and the (International) Rule of Law is dedicated to Professor Wojciech Sadurski who currently defends the freedom of expression and the rule of law in Polish courts. We stand #WithWoj.