Legalization of Policy

One of the significant elements of the transformation of governance and public policy across the world is its increasingly juridical character. This process of legalization refers to the transfer of public policy making to judicial institutions, the increasingly juridical and rule-governed processes of policy making, the central role of administrative law in the governance of public policy, and the growing importance of independent regulatory bodies in areas such as finance and health. The legalization of public policy is driven by an increasing fragmentation of interests and institutions within the state; a specific strategy of core executives and dominant social and political coalitions is to protect their interests, control subordinate authorities, and move contentious issues into nonpolitical arenas, which is often a strategy promoted by international organizations and agents. Legalization brings with it an array of new actors—courts, public interests lawyers, and regulatory institutions—using a wide array of new instruments of ...

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