Autonomia, legittimazione e reclutamento della magistratura: considerazioni storiche sull'ordinamento francese

The essay describes the issue of the legitimacy and recruitment of the judiciary in the French legal system in the 18th-20th centuries. After overthrowing the Ancien Régime, where the judiciary belonged only to the noble class, the Revolution imposed the election of all judges to democratize the powers of the state. The disappointing effects of the election led the legislator to prefer governmental appointments throughout the 19th century. The recruitment by competition, after a first attempt in 1906, was established only in 1958.