Do Foreign Appointed Judges Really Matter? Evidence from the Constitutional Court of Andorra

Recent scholarship has emphasized the role of foreign judges—that is, judges who are not nationals of the jurisdiction—in enhancing the quality, credibility, and perceived impartiality of domestic courts. This study examines the Constitutional Court of Andorra to assess whether judges appointed by foreign authorities influence judicial outcomes, particularly regarding the likelihood of decisions favoring local petitioners. Based on an empirical analysis of all abstract review cases and a randomized sample of concrete review cases decided between 1993 and 2026, the study finds only limited statistical evidence that judges appointed by foreign authorities display distinctive patterns of judicial behavior, although the observed tendencies remain sufficiently noteworthy to merit systematic reporting and further investigation.