A research agenda for trust and distrust in a multilevel judicial system
| Author | Patricia Popelier,Monika Glavina,Federica Baldan,Esther van Zimmeren |
| Published date | 01 June 2022 |
| Date | 01 June 2022 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1023263X221096026 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
A research agenda for trust
and distrust in a multilevel
judicial system
Patricia Popelier *, Monika Glavina **,
Federica Baldan
†
, and Esther van Zimmeren
††
Abstract
While public trust in the judicial system has been extensively explored in the US, this has been less
common in Europe. The purpose of this paper is therefore to launch a research agenda on trust in
courts. This is based on an overview of the empirical studies on trust/distrust in courts in Europe,
which are assessed critically in light of the trust literature. We connect the concept of multilevel
governance in which the EU operates to the concept of multilevel trust, which concerns the inter-
relations between interpersonal trust, interorganizational trust and system trust. Furthermore, we
add structure to the existing literature on trust in and within courts in Europe by categorizing it
into two main categories: (i) studies that focus on trust in courts within one (national or
European) legal system and (ii) those that explore the interaction of trust in and between courts
at different levels of governance (multilevel governance). We further examine whether different
relational and institutional aspects of trust in courts, their drivers, dynamics and effect, as well
as the recent trend of specialization in court systems have been sufficiently covered in the
literature.
Keywords
Trust, distrust, courts, multilevel governance, judicial actors, Europe
*
Full Professor, Law Faculty, Research Group on Government and Law, University of Antwerp, Belgium
**
Assistant Professor, Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Postdoctoral researcher,
GOVTRUST Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Belgium
†
FWO Postdoctoral Researcher, Law Faculty, Research Group on Government and Law, University of Antwerp, Belgium
††
Professor, Law Faculty, Research Group on Government and Law, University of Antwerp, Belgium
Corresponding author:
Patricia Popelier, Law Faculty, Research Group on Government and Law, University of Antwerp, Belgium.
E-mail: patricia.popelier@uantwerpen.be
Article
Maastricht Journal of European and
Comparative Law
2022, Vol. 29(3) 351–374
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1023263X221096026
maastrichtjournal.sagepub.com
1. Introduction: Trust in courts as an understudied topic in Europe
The literature on trust can be traced back as far as to John Locke, who saw trust as a societal bond
and lubricant for social relations. Since then, trust as a concept has been widely studied across dif-
ferent disciplines and in relation to different fields. Most attention has undoubtedly been given to
the role of trust in governance.
1
As Ruscio points out, trust is ‘central to legitimate democratic gov-
ernment, to the formation of public policy, and to its implementation’.
2
Scholars focused predom-
inantly on citizens’trust in political institutions,
3
political actors,
4
political parties
5
and public
administration.
6
Worth mentioning are also scholarly efforts that look at trust and distrust of gov-
ernment actors towards citizens,
7
between public organizations
8
or in regulators.
9
Trust in and within courts received much less attention. Yet courts have largely expanded their
visibility and impact on politics over the last few decades. For example, the Brexit decision caused
1. E.g., V.A. Braithwaite and M. Levi (eds.), Trust and Governance (Russell Sage Foundation, 1998); B. Nooteboom,
H. Berger, and N.G. Noorderhaven, ‘Effects of Trust and Governance on Relational Risk’,40Academy of
Management Journal (1997), p. 308; F. Six, ‘Trust in Regulatory Relations: How New Insights from Trust Research
Improve Regulation Theory’,15Public Management Review (2013), p. 163; F. Six and K. Verhoest, ‘Trust in
Regulatory Regimes: Scoping the Field’, in F. Six and K. Verhoest (eds.), Trust in Regulatory Regimes (Edward
Elgar Publishing, 2017), p. 1.
2. K.P. Ruscio, ‘Trust, Democracy, and Public Management: A Theoretical Argument’,6Journal of Public Administration
Research and Theory (1996), p. 462.
3. M.E. Warren, ‘Democratic Theory and Trust’, in M.E. Warren (ed.), Democracy and Trust (Cambridge University Press,
1999), p. 310; M. Levi and L. Stoker, ‘Political Trust and Trustworthiness’,3Annual Review of Political Science (2000),
p. 475; O. Listhaug and T.G. Jakobsen, ‘Foundations of Political Trust’, in E.M. Uslaner (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of
Social and Political Trust (2017), p. 559; S. Zmerli and T.W.G. Van der Meer, Handbook on Political Trust (Edward
Elgar Publishing, 2017).
4. M.J. Hetherington, ‘The Political Relevance of Political Trust,’92 American Political Science Review (1998), p. 791;
O. Listhaug, ‘The Dynamics of Trust in Politicians’,1Citizens and the State (1995), p. 261.
5. O. Listhaug and K. Ringdal, ‘Trust in Political Institutions’, in H. Ervasti et al. (eds.), Nordic Social Attitudes in a
European Perspective (2008), p. 131. See also measures used in large scale surveys such as Eurobarometer,
European Value Studies, European Social Survey, World Values Survey.
6. P. Oomsels and G. Bouckaert, ‘Studying Interorganizational Trust in Public Administration: A Conceptual and
Analytical Framework for Administrational Trust’,37Public Performance & Management Review (2014), p. 577;
J. Marlowe, ‘Part of the Solution or Cogs in the System?: The Origins and Consequences of Trust in Public
Administrators’,6Public Integrity (2004), p. 93.
7. K. Yang, ‘Public Administrators’Trust in Citizens: A Missing Link in Citizen Involvement Efforts’,65Public
Administration Review (2005), p. 273; K. Yang, ‘Trust and Citizen Involvement Decisions: Trust in Citizens, Trust
in Institutions, and Propensity to Trust’,38Administration & Society (2006), p. 573; M. Peel, ‘Trusting
Disadvantaged Citizens’, in B. Braithwaite and M. Levi (eds.), Trust and Governance (Russell Sage Foundation,
1998), p. 315; P. Sztompka, Trust: A Sociological Theory (Cambridge University Press, 1999).
8. J. Edelenbos and E.H. Klijn, ‘Trust in Complex Decision-Making Networks: A Theoretical and Empirical Exploration’,
39 Administration & Society (2007), p. 25; L.A. Van Oortmerssen, C.M.J. van Woerkum, and N. Aarts, ‘The Visibility
of Trust: Exploring the Connection between Trust and Interaction in a Dutch Collaborative Governance Boardroom’,16
Public Management Review (2014), p. 666; P. Oomsels and G. Bouckaert, 37 Public Performance & Management
Review (2014), p. 577; M. Callens, G. Bouckaert, and S. Parmentier, ‘Intra-and Interorganisational Trust in a Judicial
Context: An Exploratory Case Study’, in A. Hondeghem, X. Rousseaux, and F. Schoenaers (eds.), Modernisation of
the Criminal Justice Chain and the Judicial System (Springer, 2016), p. 115.
9. F. Six, 15 Public Management Review (2013), p. 163; F. Six and K. Verhoest (eds.), Trust in Regulatory Regimes
(Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017); I. Ayres and J. Braithwaite, Responsive Regulation: Transcending the
Deregulation Debate (Oxford University Press, 1992); N. Gunningham and D. Sinclair, ‘Regulation and the Role of
Trust: Reflections from the Mining Industry’36 Journal of Law and Society (2009), p. 167; K. Murphy, ‘The Role
of Trust in Nurturing Compliance: A Study of Accused Tax Avoiders’,28Law and Human Behavior (2004), p. 187.
352 Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 29(3)
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