The traditional model of constitutional judge is a local citizen and resident, and an individual appointed for life, until a certain age, or a non-renewable fixed term. Not all judges, however, conform to this archetype: judges in a surprisingly large number of countries are in fact foreign citizens and residents. Many of these – and some other judges – also serve on relatively short-term, renewable contracts. These arrangements pose obvious challenges for judicial independence and legitimacy: this panel these explores challenges, as well as the potential historical and contemporary justifications and benefits for this form of ‘foreign’ judging – i.e. Judging that is done by foreigners, and via institutional arrangements that are foreign to traditional notions of judicial independence.