Territoire en Mouvement (Feb 2023)
Mobilité des magistrats, attractivité des territoires et densité juridictionnelle. Le cas des juges des enfants dans six juridictions françaises (1980-2019)
Abstract
Mobility is at the heart of the magistrate's identity. It is encouraged to avoid “notabilization” and valued because it allows polyvalence. The juvenile judge may appear as a particular judge, because he is a judge who is expected to have a good knowledge of his territory. This article examines the causes that explain the mobility of juvenile judges and the territorial differences in this area. The explanation of mobility lies in the link between the attractiveness of the territory and its courts density, understood as the degree of concentration of different courts in a given area. A very attractive area associated with a low courts density is a configuration that exerts a centrifugal force that keeps judges within a limited area: promotion is later and judges only hold the position of juvenile court judge in this court. On the other hand, an area with a modest attractiveness but a high courts density is a configuration where the balance of centrifugal and centripetal forces authorizes mobility to other areas or allows for significant sub-regional mobility: promotion is early and judges hold several positions as juvenile court judges in their career. Finally, we note a notable change in strategies between the beginning of the study period (the 1980s) and its end (the 2010s). This can be explained by changes in the demographics of the magistrates and by the various reforms affecting careers. Despite the persistence of local particularities, the strategies tend to become more homogenous from the 2000s onwards. In most cases, second-grade juvenile judges now hold these positions for a short period of time, while judges who take up these positions at the same time as becoming “vice-presidents” hold them for a much longer period.
