Administration of justice: an emerging research field

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of Administration of Justice as a research field and set out an agenda for future studies that could promote the production of scientific knowledge in this area. Design/methodology/approach This paper explores the idiosyncratic features, dimensions of analysis upon the Administration of Justice, states a research agenda and discusses the main challenges on this theme. This paper conceptualizes Administration of Justice as a research field and discusses related phenomena from institutional and economic perspectives on innovation, performance, governance and legitimacy. Findings As a research field, Administration of Justice is defined as a set of theoretical concepts, research methods and techniques, aiming to investigate the management processes associated with the use and articulation of resources, knowledge and institutions, at different levels of the justice system, and their influence on the provision of justice in a given social context. As social phenomena, four levels of analysis are proper to investigate the justice system: societal, inter-organizational, organizational and operational. Innovation, performance, governance and legitimacy are central themes of the Administration of Justice and present various gaps and research opportunities. Research limitations/implications The main implications is the proposal of an agenda for future studies on the Administration of Justice field, which is an important step in raising awareness of the issue. Originality/value Administration of Justice encompasses a growing interest among academics, justice practitioners and public managers regarding managerial and political practices carried out in the justice system. Although relevant, this subject has been scarcely studied by the management community. This paper invites community to adopt an organizational and institutional perspective to Administration of Justice, setting an agenda for future research.

Tools, methods, and some caveats to analyze the Brazilian Judiciary Performance data.

“…e present work has a quantitative nature and is characterized as exploratory because we understand all the topics as early stage theoretical constructs in an emerging research field (Guimaraes, Gomes, & Guarido, 2018). In this case, it is widespread for the researcher to face with unobserved heterogeneity, omitted variable, omitted selection, simultaneity, measurement errors to cite some caveats that we will expose.…”

“…e national literature brings out an inefficiency image of the Brazilian Judiciary (Sadek, 2004;Louro, Santos, & Zanquetto, 2017;Guimaraes, Gomes, & Guarido, 2018). However, the international studies of efficiency are more oen than inefficiency studies (Mitsopoulos & Pelagidis, 2007;Falavigna, Ippoliti, Manello, & Ramello, 2015;Teixeira, Bigotte, Repolho, & Antunes, 2018).…”

Courts as Organizations: Governance and Legitimacy

“…Courts are perpetually asserting their legal and moral authority (Fallon, 2018). They are subject to social judgments, like other justice organizations, inhabiting the social space populated by multiple agents, including the media, parliament, control bodies, professionals, unions, and civil society organizations (Guimarães et al, 2018). Each exerts its influence on legitimacy, denoting a field-level perspective on legitimacy of justice organizations, or legitimacy as a social and contentious construction in the organizational (or social) field.…”

“…According to Gibson and Caldeira (1995), courts work under a "presumption of legitimacy" (Gibson & Caldeira, 1995, p. 464), and "legitimacy provides courts authority; it allows them the latitude necessary to make decisions contrary to the perceived immediate interests of their constituents" (Gibson & Caldeira, 1995, p. 460). Guimarães, Gomes, and Guarido (2018) suggest that most justice organizations, "especially the courts, police, and prisons, are highly institutionalized and legitimated in the sense that their existence and functioning are taken for granted" (Guimarães, Gomes, & Guarido, 2018, p. 478).…”

Legitimacy Accounts no Debate sobre a Reforma dos Tribunais de Contas Brasileiros

“…Sob o olhar da legitimidade, um grupamento ainda pouco estudado no campo da administração, e que chama a atenção, é o das organizações da Justiça. Tal enfoque justifica-se pelos recorrentes questionamentos sobre a legitimidade dessas organizações nos últimos anos e pela relevância dessas entidades para o ordenamento social e estrutura institucional do Estado, já que são associadas à noção de influência sobre questões civilizatórias, de respeito às leis, de coesão social e de desenvolvimento social e econômico (Guimaraes, Gomes, & Guarido Filho, 2018) ou mesmo entendidas como campo de influxo sobre os "litígios submetidos ao Poder Judiciário" (Akutsu & Guimarães, 2015, p. 942).…”