How Are a Plaintiff’s Chances Affected by the Composition of the Court?

When one comes before a court, how can the chances of success be assessed? In this video, CHRISTOPH ENGEL considers the impact of the makeup of the German Constitutional Court (in terms of the panel of justices presiding) on a plaintiff’s prospects. Focusing on the effect of the justices’ familiarity with one another both before and after recompositions of the court, Engel identifies a positive relationship between such familiarity and a plaintiff’s prospect of success. Noting that the strength of this relationship differs for different outcomes (e.g. success on the merits v procedural requests), Engel’s work opens a path for further research on political bias as well as on the data published by the German Constitutional Court.