Resumo

THURY CORNEJO, Valentín. The legitimacy of the supreme courts and communicative strategies: The case of the U.S. Supreme Court. Estudios constitucionales [online]. 2009, vol.7, n.1, pp. 243-275. ISSN 0718-5200.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-52002009000100008.

Courts are acquiring greater power in the determination of important decisions in political systems. In order to hold that bigger intervention they only have, as pointed out in The Federalist, their power of conviction. This power makes possible that their decisions are obeyed and therefore, the way they build their political legitimacy gains an essential role. This capital is administered by the courts through communicational strategies, which allows them to define their institutional position and establish a relationship with the rest of the political actors. By studying the U.S. Supreme Court we will be able to analyse the different symbolic elements that play a part in the positioning of the Superior Courts as key actors of contemporary institutional systems.

Palavras-chave : Political legitimacy; Courts; communicational strategy; U.S. Supreme Court; media.