Jurisdiction and Pluralisms: Judicial Functions and Organisation in Federal Systems, Jens Woelk, Perspectives on Federalism, 2020

The thematic focus of this issue of Perspectives on Federalism shall analyse phenomena of pluralism in the judiciary of federal systems: ‘Jurisdiction and Pluralisms: Judicial Functions and Organisation in Federal Systems’.  It will focus on the degree to which legal and judicial pluralism is possible within the general legal system of the State. Particular attention will be paid to autonomous judicial powers and the organisation of the judiciary. An important question regards the interrelation with the principle of uniformity of the jurisdiction and the general legal system of the State. According to the main hypothesis to be tested in the case studies, the underlying rationale of the respective federal systems will determine the concrete ways in which the judiciary is organised. Geographically, the case studies cover six federal systems from all around the world, in North and South America, Europe and Africa. And they show that it actually makes a considerable difference, whether the federal system is of dual or integrated nature in the organisation of federal and State functions, whether it has to cope with a huge geographic extension, or whether the challenge for the federal system is linguistic or ethnic diversity in a multinational or multiethnic federation.