Prosecuting Politicians

The laws of many countries grant politicians special protection from prosecution before national courts. The content of such laws is usually regulated by a compromise between two conflicting goals: On the one hand, the principle that everyone is equal before the law should be upheld. On the other hand, because politicians cannot fully dedicate themselves to their office when they are subject to legal proceedings, they should be protected more than regular citizens. What many seem to take for granted is that a trial of a senior politician, such as a prime minister or a president, does bad things to society.

It deepens divisions between citizens and increases polarization in a way that is unhealthy for the democratic process. This Article seeks to challenge that intuition. Based on a series of comparative examples, the Article argues that prosecuting politicians improves public deliberation by getting people who would otherwise not engage in politics to take part in the political debate.