Unpacking Legal Accountability: The Case of the European Central Bank
Although the term “legal accountability” increasingly appears in scholarly discourse surrounding the European Central Bank (ECB), it is under-theorised. This article explores three different dimensions of legal accountability, which are often confused. Accountability to law refers to accountability...
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| Language: | English |
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Cogitatio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Politics and Governance |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/8907 |
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| author | Mark Dawson Ana Bobić |
| author_facet | Mark Dawson Ana Bobić |
| author_sort | Mark Dawson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although the term “legal accountability” increasingly appears in scholarly discourse surrounding the European Central Bank (ECB), it is under-theorised. This article explores three different dimensions of legal accountability, which are often confused. Accountability to law refers to accountability to legal rules and standards. Accountability through law refers to achieving routes of administrative and political accountability through legal institutions. Accountability of law implies the accountability of legal institutions themselves to the wider public (and other courts) for their decisions. We argue that these dimensions are deeply connected in the sense that either improvements or failures along one dimension are easily carried to the others. We demonstrate the argument by applying our concept of legal accountability to ECB activity, comparing judicial review in the context of monetary policy with the Single Supervisory Mechanism. These cases suggest a possible vicious rather than virtuous circle of legal accountability, i.e., a tendency for either unclear legal standards or lack of accountability of courts themselves to undermine accountability for ECB activity as a whole. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-18f20a3a7f784f81bcf3261d5626fabf |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2183-2463 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Politics and Governance |
| spelling | doaj-art-18f20a3a7f784f81bcf3261d5626fabf2025-01-30T10:39:25ZengCogitatioPolitics and Governance2183-24632025-01-0113010.17645/pag.89073941Unpacking Legal Accountability: The Case of the European Central BankMark Dawson0Ana Bobić1Jacques Delors Centre, Hertie School, GermanyJacques Delors Centre, Hertie School, GermanyAlthough the term “legal accountability” increasingly appears in scholarly discourse surrounding the European Central Bank (ECB), it is under-theorised. This article explores three different dimensions of legal accountability, which are often confused. Accountability to law refers to accountability to legal rules and standards. Accountability through law refers to achieving routes of administrative and political accountability through legal institutions. Accountability of law implies the accountability of legal institutions themselves to the wider public (and other courts) for their decisions. We argue that these dimensions are deeply connected in the sense that either improvements or failures along one dimension are easily carried to the others. We demonstrate the argument by applying our concept of legal accountability to ECB activity, comparing judicial review in the context of monetary policy with the Single Supervisory Mechanism. These cases suggest a possible vicious rather than virtuous circle of legal accountability, i.e., a tendency for either unclear legal standards or lack of accountability of courts themselves to undermine accountability for ECB activity as a whole.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/8907accountabilitybanking supervisioneuropean central bankjudicial reviewmonetary policy |
| spellingShingle | Mark Dawson Ana Bobić Unpacking Legal Accountability: The Case of the European Central Bank Politics and Governance accountability banking supervision european central bank judicial review monetary policy |
| title | Unpacking Legal Accountability: The Case of the European Central Bank |
| title_full | Unpacking Legal Accountability: The Case of the European Central Bank |
| title_fullStr | Unpacking Legal Accountability: The Case of the European Central Bank |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unpacking Legal Accountability: The Case of the European Central Bank |
| title_short | Unpacking Legal Accountability: The Case of the European Central Bank |
| title_sort | unpacking legal accountability the case of the european central bank |
| topic | accountability banking supervision european central bank judicial review monetary policy |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/8907 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT markdawson unpackinglegalaccountabilitythecaseoftheeuropeancentralbank AT anabobic unpackinglegalaccountabilitythecaseoftheeuropeancentralbank |