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17 Utrecht L. Rev. 1 (2021)

handle is hein.journals/utrecht17 and id is 1 raw text is: Utrecht'LaWRevieV Elaine Mak, 'Travelling with Judges: Brief Reflections on the Roadmap on Comparative Law Developed by the Network of Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the European Union' (2021) 17(1) Utrecht Law Review pp. 1-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36633/ulr.690 INTRODUCTION Travelling with Judges: Brief Reflections on the Roadmap on Comparative Law Developed by the Network of Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the European Union Elaine Mak* This article accompanies a Roadmap on the judicial use of comparative law, which was developed by judges from different European supreme courts. This document is published in this issue of Utrecht Law Review. Brief reflections on relevant scholarly aspects help the reader to appreci- ate the meaning and value of this Roadmap for contemporary judicial functioning in Member States of the European Union. Addressed aspects concern the legitimacy of judicial comparativ- ism and the methodological quality of the Roadmap. This analysis leads to a conclusion about the Roadmap's potential to enhance the quality of judicial decision-making and support dialogues of courts with their foreign counterparts as well as with other legal and societal audiences. 1. Introduction In this issue of Utrecht Law Review, Maarten Feteris, former President of the Supreme Court of the Nether- lands (Hoge Raad), presents a Roadmap on the judicial use of comparative law' The Roadmap was developed within the framework of the Network of Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the European Union (hereafter: the Network). This association, which exists since 2004, aims to bring European supreme courts closer through discussions and exchanges of ideas as well as to offer a forum through which European insti- tutions can ask these courts for their opinions on specific topics.2 Regarding the Roadmap, Feteris explains that 'the aim was to develop a document which can be helpful for the courts in the Network in a practical way when considering and implementing the use of comparative law' As a reason for engaging with this matter, he mentions: 'The use of comparative law by judges implies that judges, when making a decision on a controversial legal issue, look (amongst others) at the solutions which have been chosen for similar problems in other legal systems.'4 The request to publish this Roadmap is an interesting development. After all, its primary audience are judges and the stated aim regarding the document is to provide guidance to them. Yet, several possible reasons which justify a broader distribution come to mind. Firstly, the publication enables other legal com- munities, such as lawyers and legal scholars, to gain insight into the working methods of the supreme courts and to use this information in their own activities, for example, the preparation of arguments by lawyers or the critical analysis of judicial decision-making by scholars. Secondly, the publication of the Roadmap allows the wider society to obtain an understanding of judicial functioning in a contemporary globalised context. In this regard, the publication fits in a more general trend concerning demands of transparency and accountability of institutions as a basis for their legitimacy.5 Elaine Mak is Professor of Jurisprudence at Utrecht University and a member of the editorial board of Utrecht Law Review, NL. email: e.mak@uu.nl. M. Feteris, 'Roadmap on Comparative Law in the Case Law and Practice of the Supreme Courts of the EU'(2021) Utrecht Law Review, this issue. 2 <https://www.network-presidents.eu/page/network-0> accessed 28 February 2021. ' Feteris, 'Roadmap', section A 4 Ibid. On the notion of legitimacy of institutions, see M. Bovens et al., 'Institutional Legitimacy in Open Societies', IOS Think Paper Series nr. 2, <https://www.uu.nl/en/research/institutions-for-open-societies/ios-think-paper-series> accessed 28 February 2021.

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