Role conflict and role ambiguity in the work of judges: the perceptions of Portuguese judges

Abstract The reform of the judiciaries of several countries have created a new role for judges, a managerial role, in which judges assume new management responsibilities. This new role is different from the traditional one which focused on judicial tasks, and has generated conflict and ambiguity in the work of judges. This study aims to identify and discuss the conflicts and ambiguities between the judicial and administrative roles performed by Portuguese judges. The research took place in Portugal over the period between 2013 and 2014, and data was collected from in-depth interviews with 12 judges. The research identifies several areas of role conflict and ambiguity in the judges’ work. The main conflicts are: incompatibility between the carrying out of judicial and management activities; high workload and insufficient and unmotivated administrative staff; the need to maintain both productivity and judicial quality; and the great responsibility of the position but poor remuneration. The main ambiguities reported are: the formal relationship between judges and administrative officials; the judge’s function in the process of court planning; the criteria for the distribution of judicial proceedings among judges; and the criteria to evaluate judges’ performance. These results are discussed and a research agenda is suggested.

摘要 多国司法体系改革为法官创设了全新的管理型角色，法官需承担起新型管理职责。这一角色与过往专注于审判事务的传统司法职能存在显著差异，并给法官的工作带来了冲突与模糊问题。本研究旨在识别并探讨葡萄牙法官所承担的司法与行政双重角色之间的冲突与模糊之处。本研究于2013至2014年间在葡萄牙开展，通过对12名法官进行深度访谈收集数据。研究识别出法官工作中存在多类角色冲突与权责模糊场景：主要冲突包括：司法事务与管理活动的执行难以兼容；工作负荷繁重，行政人员配备不足且积极性低下；需同时兼顾审判效率与司法质量；职位责任重大但薪酬待遇偏低。报告提及的主要模糊点包括：法官与行政官员间的正式关系；法官在法院规划流程中的职能定位；法官间司法案件分配的评判标准；以及法官绩效评估的相关准则。本研究对上述结果展开讨论，并提出了后续研究议程。