Do Foreign Appointed Judges Really Matter? Evidence from the Constitutional Court of Andorra

Do Foreign Appointed Judges Really Matter? Evidence from the Constitutional Court of Andorra | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Do Foreign Appointed Judges Really Matter? Evidence from the Constitutional Court of Andorra Nuno Garoupa This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9187767/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Recent scholarship has emphasized the role of foreign judges—that is, judges who are not nationals of the jurisdiction—in enhancing the quality, credibility, and perceived impartiality of domestic courts. This study examines the Constitutional Court of Andorra to assess whether judges appointed by foreign authorities influence judicial outcomes, particularly regarding the likelihood of decisions favoring local petitioners. Based on an empirical analysis of all abstract review cases and a randomized sample of concrete review cases decided between 1993 and 2026, the study finds only limited statistical evidence that judges appointed by foreign authorities display distinctive patterns of judicial behavior, although the observed tendencies remain sufficiently noteworthy to merit systematic reporting and further investigation. judicial behavior constitutional review empirical analysis foreign appointments small states Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 01 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 26 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 24 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 24 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 21 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9187767","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":613838268,"identity":"208907ab-3ce9-483d-8d52-a41d830747f6","order_by":0,"name":"Nuno Garoupa","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAr0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBADOQjFRoIWY9K1JDYQrcWcf/GzDx/b7qTPDztjwPCh7DBhLZYznhnPnNn2LHfj7RwDxhnniNBicOOAMTNv2+HcjbNzDEAMYrQc/wxSmW4I0vKXKC3ne8C2JMhLA7UwEmcLTzHQC88MN0inFRzsOZdOjC3HNwMD6o68/OzkjQ9+lFkT1sIgkQAiDzAYHACRRAH+AxAt8g3EqR8Fo2AUjIIRCACBtD9dlFEB5AAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"George Mason University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nuno","middleName":"","lastName":"Garoupa","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-21 19:38:14","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9187767/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9187767/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105851746,"identity":"2bcb0e78-f642-4c03-9711-ea116a517763","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-31 19:55:14","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":516324,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"andorraejleversion.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9187767/v1_covered_90d072ce-ba9f-4858-b719-3a2e93200558.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Do Foreign Appointed Judges Really Matter? 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