Securing Scientific Understanding: Expert Judges in Finnish Environmental Administrative Judicial Review

Abstract

Finland has opted for an "internalized solution" when it comes to securing courts access to adequate scientific knowledge: in the administrative courts, in-house expert judges are part of the court's panel. The expert judges have scientific or technical education but no lawyer's qualifications, yet are considered judges as much as the judicial ones. In the Supreme Administrative Court and in the first court of appeal most, albeit not all, of the environmental cases are heard by panels with expert judges - notably, the cases dealing with nature conservation but not with the Water Act or the Environmental Protection Act are problematic in not receiving such attention. The combination of administrative judicial system of broad scope of review, in-house environmental expert judges and inquisitorial and investigative approach enables thorough consideration of the cases, allowing for an elegant solution to the fundamental epistemological and ontological challenges faced by environmental regulation - namely those of "legal questions and scientific answers". The Finnish solution brings indisputable benefits and as such is recommended to other jurisdictions. Domestically, we suggest that national legislation be amended in order to convene cases dealing with nature conservation matters to the administrative court with expert members as well.