Courts as Protectors of the Rule of Law: Early Signs of Rule of Law Erosion and Repair Kit from Legal, Philosophical and Political Perspectives ('CoROL')

What we know about the rule of law crises in Hungary and Poland is that they both followed roughly the same path. Political actors
attempted to weaken the judiciary, to downplay the importance of the constitution, and in this way to undermine public trust towards the
legal system and to use the system for their own purposes. This erosion of the rule of law happened by (quasi)legal means: by following
specific rules that seem applicable and by interpretating the constitution in a suitable way. Scholars call this “ruling by cheating” meaning
that powerholders pretend to satisfy the requirements of the rule while in fact disregarding them.

This ruling by cheating is partly made possible because of the unclarities surrounding the idea of rule of law. It is possible for even
strongly authoritarian regimes to claim to respect rule of law, if it is understood e.g., in a “thin” way, so that it refers only to formal
features of the legal system. On the other hand, if rule of law is understood in a “thick” sense, so that it includes, e.g., individual rights
and democracy, then violating these means also violating rule of law. But thick conceptions have their own problems: they need to
specify which substantial values should be included in rule of law and how those values should be understood. These unclarities about the
content of rule of law are amplified during crises such as hybrid influencing, war in Ukraine and the Covid-19.

In order to respect rule of law also during times of crisis, its core content should be clear. But how to answer the question of the core
content of the rule of law? And how to strengthen the judiciary’s role in protecting this core, especially in Finland, where the court has
traditionally been very reserved in constitutional questions? In this research project we aim to fullfil these research gaps. Focusing on the
first signs before the rule of law crisis emerges, the main research question is: what are the key aspects of the rule of law and how can
they be protected by the judiciary? The multidisciplinary project relies on different sets of research material of which the Finnish
Supreme Courts’ judges’ interviews will be the most important. The project’s findings are expected to challenge the way the scientific
community has approached the rule of law crises and the means that are most crucial in protecting the key content of rule of law.