Procedural justice, legitimacy and compliance across national boundaries A key aspect of procedural justice theory is the notion of shared group membership. Procedurally fair behaviour on the part of justice agents strengthens the social bonds between citizens and justice institutions, and between citizens and the social group the institutions represent, which in turn encourages trust, legitimation of group authorities, the sense that they are worthy of cooperation and support, and acceptance of their right to determine behaviour. Conversely, procedural injustice weakens peoples social bonds, serving to marginalise and exclude those who experience it, while damaging trust, legitimacy, cooperation and compliance (Xxxxxx and Xxxxx 2003; Bradford 2014; Bradford et al. 2014). These ideas presuppose, however, that citizens believe that they can at least potentially share group identities with justice agents; absent this connection, why should they care about the identity relevant aspects (for example fairness) of the behaviours of group authorities? In the context of a single nation state this idea is in fact relatively unproblematic – most citizens feel at least a nominal sense of connection to the country in which they live (indeed, most will have been born there), and justice agents such as police clearly represent this social entity in some way. ‘Procedural justice effects’, linking personal experience with trust, legitimacy and cooperation have been found within many different countries (REFS), attesting that notions of shared group membership in the relationship between, for example, police and public are found in diverse national contexts. The extent to which procedural justice translates across boundaries is however open to question. With increasing population mobility across Europe, people are encountering ‘foreign’ legal systems and criminal justice actors more and more frequently. Do citizens living temporarily or holidaying in another country place the same emphasis on the procedural fairness of its justice agents as long-term residents? Does the perceived legitimacy of the French police, for example, predict compliance with French laws among people normally residing outside France? Or do instrumental factors become more important in such situations? These questions are important because they suggest that trust-based justice policies may be differentially effective among EU citizens acting in different contexts. People ‘passing through’ a country may be less attuned to the fairness of its polic...
