Between numbers and justice

Judicial productivity and the self-legitimacy of magistrates

Abstract

This article aims to examine the perceptions of judges working in São Paulo’s capital regarding the pressure for productivity exerted by judicial management bodies, and how this pressure influences their sense of self-legitimacy. Self-legitimacy refers to the degree of confidence that public officials have in the legitimacy of their own authority (TANKEBE, 2011). These perceptions will be explored through interviews, and the analysis will seek to uncover the themes associated with productivity, how the interviewees respond to these expectations, and how such demands shape the meanings these judges attribute to their work.