Factors affecting judicial review of regulatory appeals

Abstract

The relationship between the executive and judiciary branches on regulatory matters in developing countries is a subject that has not been explored much. This paper explores factors affecting judicial decisions in the regulatory field, aiming to fill this gap. The content of 1353 judicial reviews of appealed decisions issued by nine Brazilian regulatory agencies, judged by two federal appellate courts from 2010 to 2019, were analyzed. Data analysis used logistic regression with decision ruling in favor or against the agency as the dependent variable, and length of the proceedings, regulatory agency, subject of the decision, grounds of the court ruling, and amount in dispute as independent variables. The results show that: a) length of the proceedings had a relevant impact on the court behavior; b) courts are more likely to issue rulings against the regulatory authorities when reviewing procedural issues and on subjects involving norms and price-setting regulatory tasks; c) the electricity authority was the only regulatory body that had results that were statistically significant and it was found that appeal rulings were more likely to be against that body.