To shed a realist light on court administration and the regulation of judges in liberal-democratic countries, we conduct an empirical study of an organ that has attracted little attention: the Director of Courts in Israelan administrative entity that "manages" the judiciary. In important respects, the Director may be regarded as a regulator of judges, thus assessment of judicial independence in Israel is incomplete without recognizing its presence. The institution of the Director has undergone agencification, which entailed augmentation of its capacities and an evolution in mindset regarding the implementation of these capacities. As a result, its powers, mode of operation, and organization have fundamentally transformed over time, as has the regulatory terrain within which judges conduct their business. By introducing novel indicators for assessment and applying them in an unfamiliar context, this paper offers important theoretical contributions to studies of the regulation and administration of courts and judges, and agencification.

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(auteur référent) et ysagy@ law.haifa.ac.il. Ce travail de recherche a été rendu possible grâce au soutien généreux du Fonds israélien pour la science (bourse n o 1712/18). Les auteurs remercient Saar Ben-Zeev et Ittai Regev pour la qualité de leur assistance au travail de recherche. Les articles paraissant dans la Revue internationale du Travail n'engagent que leurs auteurs, et leur publication ne signifie pas que le BIT souscrit aux opinions qui y sont exprimées.

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This article re‐examines the ILO's normative outlook on prison labour, arguing that it is out of touch with the realities on the ground, where public/private hybrid forms of prison labour are proliferating. The authors bring to light the controversy surrounding the position taken by the ILO, as member States repeatedly demand that it relax, and increasingly defy, its dichotomous stance. They illustrate the heavy price to be paid if the ILO stays on its current course, but also if it adopts the position favoured by some of these member States. Instead, they point to two alternatives that go beyond these conflicting positions.