Professional Judges Research Articles

The minimum number of points and the calculation period of accrual as elements of the mechanism for improving the qualifications of lawyers

It is indicated that the defining elements of the lawyer’s legal status are his professional rights, duties, guarantees and responsibilities. Improving the qualifications of a lawyer is one of his fundamental professional duties (paragraph 4, part 1, article 21 of the Law of Ukraine «On Advocacy and Advocacy»). This article reveals the essence of the mechanism of the lawyer’s implementation of his professional duty to improve his qualifications, primarily through the prism of the need for him to obtain the appropriate number of points during the specified calculation period of their accrual. Attention is drawn to the dilatability of the issue not only regarding the total minimum number of points that a lawyer must receive, as well as the calculation period for their accrual, but also regarding the expediency of the existence of an institute for improving the qualifications of lawyers in general. In the framework of this article, the normative consolidation of the procedure for implementing the lawyer’s obligation to improve his qualifications in the context of the calculation of the appropriate number of points during a certain calculation period in accordance with national legislation, as well as the experience of foreign countries in determining the mechanism for improving the qualifications of lawyers, was also investigated. It is concluded that foreign countries use different positions regarding the definition of the mechanism for improving the qualifications of lawyers. Thus, a number of countries adhere to the need to use a calculation period of one year, fixing at the same time a different minimum number of credit points (hours, credits) that a lawyer must receive. Countries that not only set the minimum required number of points (hours) for a lawyer in one year, but also set a longer calculation period in general (three or five years) take a slightly different position. It is concluded that the provisions of national legislation regarding the minimum number of points (10 hours) that a lawyer must obtain within one year generally correspond to the law-making practice of European countries (the average duration of training of European professional judges and practicing lawyers is approximately 14 hours/points/credits per year).

Особенности судопроизводства по семейным спорам при внедрении цифрового правосудия

The article brings up the issue of risks of introducing artificial intelligence into court proceedings. The introduction of modern technology is expected to have a positive impact on the economics of justice. However, professional judges are wary of artificial intelligence making decisions for humans. The authors conclude that the legislator should develop an effective legal mechanism for regulating and controlling the application of artificial intelligence. They further suggest that these rights should be recognized as transferable while maintaining a comprehensive system of judicial unity. Following an analysis of the foreign experience of introducing digital technologies in the regulation of family disputes, it is recommended that the most effective and advanced practices from a number of countries be adopted, while it is essential that these technologies not impede the exercise of rights to justice and a fair trial. The authors conclude that the introduction of digital technologies should eliminate many gaps in law and law enforcement. In particular, they argue that the rule of law will be placed above judicial lawmaking.

Prospects for the use of artificial intelligence in civil justice

The article discusses the general prospects for the use of artificial intelligence technology in civil proceedings as a main and auxiliary tool at the current stage of the development of this technology. The main approaches to defining the concept of artificial intelligence were studied and its classification into weak, strong and superintelligence was characterized. It is emphasized that justice is usually administered by professional judges, as high demands are placed on their legal knowledge and life experience. It is argued that equal replacement of a judge in civil proceedings with artificial intelligence technology is currently impossible. The reasons for the impossibility of such a replacement are analyzed, namely the complexity and multifacetedness of controversial private-law relations, the impossibility of taking into account moral and ethical aspects, the need for flexibility in decision-making, the problem of the nature of the initial algorithms of artificial intelligence, the transparency (motivation) of decisions, the problem of determining the guilty party in court cases errors, data protection issue. It is noted that these reasons have a technological and legal basis. A critical assessment of the state’s conceptual approaches to the development of artificial intelligence in the field of justice is provided. The directions of the auxiliary application of artificial intelligence technologies in civil proceedings, which are reduced to the automation of routine tasks, processing and analysis of large volumes of data and evidence, and increasing the accessibility of justice, are considered. It has been proven that the use of artificial intelligence technology provides better opportunities for the participants in the judicial process to realize their rights and obligations, including the processing of large amounts of information. The importance of ensuring a high level of information protection when using artificial intelligence during the administration of justice in civil cases is emphasized. The need for regulatory regulation of the use of artificial intelligence technology in civil proceedings in combination with other spheres of public administration and branches of law is substantiated. It is indicated that the wider application of artificial intelligence in civil proceedings will require new technological solutions and revision of the legal foundations of the judicial branch of government.

Современные модели конституционного правосудия и их отличительные черты

The object of study in the article is the current models of constitutional justice used in various jurisdictions. The author examines the models of constitutional justice that are currently used by constitutional justice in various regions of the world. The relevance of the article is determined by the fact that the study of this issue makes it possible to choose the optimal model that allows effectively solving issues of national rule-making. For the Republic of Kazakhstan, this problem is very important in light of the creation in the country of a new model of constitutional justice, which requires scientific understanding taking into account the accumulated world experience in organizing constitutional justice. The purpose of the article is to study modern models of constitutional justice from the point of view of their main differences, advantages and disadvantages. Methods. The peculiarity of the methodology used is determined by the goal of a comprehensive study of existing models of constitutional justice. In this regard, the diversity of approaches, methods and means of understanding this form of legal process required reliance on comprehensive and systematic approaches. Conducting a study of the constitutional jurisdictional process required, firstly, the use of general scientific and proper legal methods, including methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, abstraction and generalization. Also in this work, a comparative legal method was used, which made it possible to carry out a comparative analysis of the models under study, identify their main characteristics, on the basis of which to formulate appropriate conclusions. In addition, in the process of working on the article, a country-specific legal approach was used, which made it possible to consider the features of national models of constitutional justice. Results. It has been determined that in the world practice of constitutional control, various models of constitutional justice are known. Based on the results of the study, it was determined that currently the most promising is the centralized (European) model. The conducted research allows us to say that the existing models of constitutional justice have both their advantages and disadvantages, however, in our opinion, the presence of a separate body that carries out constitutional justice is more preferable, since it ensures its autonomy, independence and objectivity in making decisions. decisions by professional judges who have the appropriate qualifications, authority and experience in considering complex issues related to rulemaking.

The black book on Turin's pre-removal detention center (CPR). When legal turns political

The paper describes how NGOs, lawyers' associations and civil society reacted to the suicide of a young man from Guinea while detained in Turin's Pre-Removal Detention Centre (CPR), where migrants are detained for the sole purpose of deportation. Deprivation of freedom without any criminal record entails a legal scandal, something that challenges the rule of law: the limitation of freedom is reserved to non-EU citizens who now come under the jurisdiction of lay judges (Justice of the Peace), despite decisions on personal freedom are exclusively handled by full professional judges. Furthermore, the legal ground for the detention of undocumented migrants is surprisingly fragile and fragmentary, often resorting to mere ministerial circulars where a law should be mandatory. Defying almost 25 years of indifference, silent acceptance and ignorance, the network of activists launched a campaign to shut the CPR down, publishing the Black Book on Turin's CPR and raising the public attention against the segregation of migrants through individual accounts and lived experiences.

Les conséquences du rôle de juré d’assises sur la santé mentale : état des lieux et préconisations

Jury duty, as exceptional as it is, is not without consequences for mental health. Indeed, during this assignment, randomly selected citizens are called on to judge people accused of criminal acts, to decide on their guilt and, if necessary, on their sentence. Thus, in court trials, the juror's voice will count just as that of the professional judges who sit with them. However, this enormous responsibility and the imperative aspect of jury duty can cause significant stress, especially when we consider that very often, jurors only have a limited knowledge of the judicial system. Also, being exposed to various types of evidence and to serious facts can be trying. Finally, the various obligations jurors have to meet can accentuate the difficulty of this duty, for example, the fact that, because the procedure is subject to sanctions, the jurors cannot discuss the case with others and must respect the secrecy of deliberations, even after the judgment has been rendered. For all these reasons, and also sometimes because of pre-existing individual vulnerabilities, the jury duty experience can lead to a variety of psychological difficulties, difficulties that are still not sufficiently taken into account. Although several forms of care are emerging today, such treatments remain varied and unequally available throughout the country. This article has multiple purposes. First, it aims to enumerate the possible consequences of jury duty on mental health, then, to present an inventory of what is actually available in terms of care in France. Finally, this inventory leads us to the possible intervention in several stages which could be made available to jurors, thereby offering a comprehensive and generalized support. A review of French and international literature was carried out, highlighting the main consequences of jury duty on mental health and the emergence of care systems, particularly in North America and France. Several studies stress the impact of jury duty on mental health, particularly in terms of stress, anxiety disorder and/or post-traumatic symptomatology. While support systems have emerged particularly in Canada, some have also gradually begun to be put in place in France, but they differ from one area to another, and they are not systematically made available. Some of them focus exclusively on post-trial support, while others also offer an upstream prevention phase. Finally, in terms of evaluation, the effectiveness of those interventions is estimated only by the participant's satisfaction, without any systematization or assurance of the real effectiveness of these interventions. Considering the available data in the literature and the various existing support systems, a proposal for a system of generalized support to jurors has been put forth in order to argue in favor of the adoption of this type of care. Indeed, in addition to a post-trial intervention, it seems important to plan for a phase of pre-trial prevention and the presentation of a treatment protocol, before the actual trial begins. Particularly, this should encourage jurors to more willingly take part in the post-trial intervention should signs of stress and anxiety emerge. Finally, it appears necessary to systematize the evaluation of the effectiveness of those support systems other than simply in terms of the satisfaction of the participants.

Dispute Resolution in Islamic Banking Industry Under The Iraqi Judiciary System

Islamic banking transaction is based on an interest-free system that is prohibited to deal with riba. Several Islamic banks in Iraq are governed by the Central Bank of Iraq. Due to the lack of Islamic financial courts and lack of professional judges in the Islamic financial field, Islamic banking cases are handled by civil courts in Iraq. However, Islamic finance disputes should be considered by special courts with qualified judges in the field. The Judicial Authority in Iraq is not based on the Sharia system and the Sharia court specialised in Islamic finance in Iraq does not exist. As stated in Article 89 of the Iraqi Constitution of 2005 that the federal juridical power is comprised of the Higher Juridical Council, the Federal Supreme Court, the Federal Court of Cassation, the Public Prosecution Department, the Judiciary Oversight Commission, and other federal courts that are regulated under the law. Thus, Islamic banking disputes fall under the civil courts and the Courts of First Instance are responsible to handle cases of debt, and contracts. Furthermore, these courts are not specialists in Islamic banking and finance transactions. Therefore, a particular court, i.e. the Islamic financial court, should be among these courts in Iraq for resolving Islamic banking disputes. In addition, the special court has to include qualified judges who are familiar with Islamic finance.

Organizational and legal aspects of the formation of the corps of professional judges in Ukraine

Purpose. The purpose of the work is to study the main problems of improving the procedure for forming the judicial corps. In order to create a truly authoritative, professional and, of course, independent judiciary in Ukraine, first of all, it is necessary to improve the system of forming the judicial corps. After all, the main prerequisite for both independence and a high legal status of a judge is proper staffing by highly professional, competent specialists. Methodology. The methodological basis of the study is a system of interrelated conceptual principles and methods, which make it possible to comprehensively and fully investigate the foundations of the reform of the judicial system and the formation of a qualified judicial corps. In particular, the following methods were used: the method of scientific forecasting and modeling; axiological method; historical-genetic method; logical method; formal legal method. Results. In the process of research, it was recognized that the selection of candidates for the position of judge, as a prerequisite for the formation of a qualified judicial corps, is a problem of general societal importance, which, due to constant changes in the political, socio-economic and cultural life of society, almost continuously maintains its relevance. Originality. In the research process, it was established that the formation of a highly professional and highly moral judicial corps is possible only on the condition that every citizen with a high legal culture and legal awareness wants to live in a fair, democratic and legal state. Practical significance. The conclusions, provisions and recommendations formulated in the article can be used in law-making activities; research work and educational process.

Trial and Error: A Comparative Perspective on the Lay Participation in Criminal Trials and Appellate Review of Errors in Taiwan

Taiwan follows its East Asian counterparts to establish a system of lay participation in criminal trials, which is called citizen judges and took effect in January 2023. But Taiwan will soon face similar conundrums, like Japan and South Korea have encountered, about whether to allow professional judges to review and even reverse decisions made by citizen judges. In a mock case, the Taiwan High Court and Taiwan’s Supreme Court both attempted to address the conflict from a perspective of American law, but more controversies have emerged than been solved. This Article follows the route of the two courts and deals with those unsettled controversies in four aspects: legal errors, factual errors, sentencing errors, and the mixed questions of law and fact. This Article advises appellate courts to: (1) employ principles like preservation of claims, plain errors, and harmless errors when reviewing legal errors de novo, (2) incorporate the substantial evidence review with the existing law into a two-step test, through which the appellate review of factual errors may work better, (3) interpret the standard of exceeding unreasonableness in an abuse-of-discretion way when investigating errors in sentencing, and (4) replace the de novo standard with a spectrum approach when reviewing the errors of impropriety, namely the mixed question of law and fact in Taiwan’s context. Through these adjustments in the appellate review process, the new system of citizen judges will better serve to enhance the public knowledge of and confidence in criminal trials as the new system has been entailed.

Development of flavored dahi by incorporating soymilk and cocoa powder

The experiment was conducted to develop the chocolate-flavored soy dahi and find the accepted level of soymilk that should be added to milk to produce chocolate-flavored dahi. Therefore, four distinct kinds of dahi designated T0 (control, 100% cow milk), T1 (75% cow milk and 25% soy milk) and T2 (50% cow milk and 50% soy milk) and T3 (25% cow milk and 75% soy milk) were prepared by partially substituting cow milk to soy milk. Each variety also contained 1.5% cocoa powder. A panel of professional judges assessed the sensory (organoleptic) properties of the produced samples. The physical study's findings revealed that the overall organoleptic (i.e., smell and taste, body and texture, color and appearance) scores of dahi of kinds T0, T1, T2, and T3 varied significantly (P<0.01) from one another. According to the findings of the chemical test, the soy milk addition considerably lowered the amount of fat, acidity, total solids, and minerals while dramatically increasing the amount of moisture and protein (P<0.05). The growth of lactic acid bacteria is considerably better, however, it gradually reduces with the higher Addition of soy milk to cow milk. Based on the findings, it was concluded that soy milk could substitute milk by 25%, producing dahi that may be almost as good as that made only with milk and cocoa powder. Asian Australas. J. Biosci. Biotechnol. 2023, 8 (1), 1-7

Психологические приемы в арсенале дореволюционной российской адвокатуры

<p style="text-align: justify;">The problem of the use of psychological methods of influencing professional judges and juries by professional lawyers, and especially by lawyers, is relevant and often becomes the subject of scientific and public discussion. At the same time, the history of the appeal of domestic legal practitioners to psychological methods of strengthening their position seems to be insufficiently studied. The purpose of the article is to study the psychological techniques used by pre-revolutionary lawyers. It is shown that, in addition to legal argumentation, jurors effectively used appeals to the humanism of jurors, their patriotism, religious feelings, the urge to empathy, playing on the legal nihilism of society, the latter’s opposition to the state mechanism of autocratic Russia.</p>

Intime conviction’ in Germany: Conceptual Foundations, Historical Development and Current Meaning

The paper analyses the concept of «intime conviction» from the perspective of the German reformed inquisitorial criminal procedure. It starts off with the discussion of the foundations of the concept and explains how it – in essence, a flexible method to assess the available evidence – is integrated in the larger topic of the law of evidence, especially its production and evaluation (infra 1.). One key issue in this regard is how much freedom is given to the adjudicator to carry out the evidentiary evaluation and how this freedom relates to the applicable standard of proof (Beweismaßstab, estándar probatorio), being «beyond any reasonable doubt» (BARD) the most popular one. At any rate, in a (reformed) inquisitorial system all persons involved in the evidentiary process should be guided by the search for truth. To fully understand «intime conviction» and how it operates in the reformed inquisitorial procedure it is necessary to take a look at the historical development and the different factors influencing this development (2.). Here again the importance of the fact-finding authority (professional judges vs. laypersons, especially jury) comes to light and its dependence or at least relationship with the system of evidentiary evaluation. It will be seen that while the current system is based on the historical precedents the historical development has not been linear. This current system is then analysed in the following section (3.). It will be shown that it moves somewhere between the former system of legal proof and free evaluation. An expansive appeals jurisprudence has increasingly turned the «free conviction» into a sort of «conviction raisonnée», the lack of remaining (reasonable) doubts as a basis for a conviction makes clear that it is the BARD standard which effectively informs the intime conviction method in substantive terms. The paper closes with some further considerations on the justification of the (high) standard and the (formally not necessary) proof of defences (4.).

Development and validation of a highly dynamic and reusable picture-based scale: A new affective measurement tool.

Emotion measurement is crucial to conducting emotion research. Numerous studies have extensively employed textual scales for psychological and organizational behavior research. However, emotions are transient states of organisms with relatively short duration, some insurmountable limitations of textual scales have been reported, including low reliability for single measurement or susceptibility to learning effects for multiple repeated use. In the present article, we introduce the Highly Dynamic and Reusable Picture-based Scale (HDRPS), which was randomly generated based on 3,386 realistic, high-quality photographs that are divided into five categories (people, animals, plants, objects, and scenes). Affective ratings of the photographs were gathered from 14 experts and 209 professional judges. The HDRPS was validated using the Self-Assessment Manikin and the PANAS by 751 participants. With an accuracy of 89.73%, this new tool allows researchers to measure individual emotions continuously for their research. The non-commercial use of the HDRPS system can be freely accessible by request at http://syy.imagesoft.cc:8989/Pictures.7z. HDRPS is used for non-commercial academic research only. As some of the images are collected through the open network, it is difficult to trace the source, so please contact the author if there are any copyright issues.

Comparing sentencing judgments of judges and laypeople: The role of justifications.

There is a lack of understanding concerning the differences between laypeople's and professional judges' conceptions of justifications for sentencing. We conducted an online quasi-experimental study with 50 active judges and 200 laypeople. Participants were presented with a vignette describing severe child abuse leading to fatality and were asked to indicate a term of imprisonment for the father and the justification they would consider relevant when deciding on the sentence. A two-factor analysis of variance showed that laypeople disproportionately favored retribution compared to judges. This was reflected in the judges' higher scores for the other three justifications (incapacitation, general deterrence, rehabilitation). The Likert scales failed to detect any such differences. Furthermore, imprisonment terms given by judges were shorter than those given by laypeople. These results support the hypotheses that judges balance multiple justifications and find a shorter sentence that is appropriate; their lesser bias toward retribution supports the notion that judges should be balanced and fair-minded.

Review: En tela de juicio: Justicia penal, homicidios célebres y opinión pública (México, siglo XX), by Elisa Speckman Guerra

Review: <i>En tela de juicio: Justicia penal, homicidios célebres y opinión pública (México, siglo XX)</i>, by Elisa Speckman Guerra

The expertise effect: the impact of legal specialists’ intervention on the timely delivery of laymen's judgments

France relies exclusively on lay assessors to solve conflicts between entrepreneurs and employees for the longest time compared to any other civil jurisdiction. Given the lack of legal training of labor judges, the paper tests whether an intensification in the offer for legal services, whether coming from professional judges or specialized labor lawyers, induces delays in the procedure. Using a two-stage least squared estimating method and an innovative dataset on French labor courts between 2013 and 2017, the manuscript estimates the effect of an increase in the intervention of legal experts in labor litigation. The analysis showed that referrals to a professional judge delay labor cases’ solutions but refuted the long-standing economic theory that lawyers induce delay to acquire higher fees. This study indicates that the current structure of employment courts, entirely left in the hand of laymen with little knowledge of the ever-changing labor legislation, should be reconsidered to foster collaborative solutions accounting for industrial experience and, at the same time, legal competency.

Likelihood ratios in psychological expert opinion, and their reception by professional judges

In various countries, forensic scientists have begun to express their expert opinion in terms of the likelihood of observing the evidence under the primary and under an alternative hypothesis (i.e. the likelihood-ratio approach). This development is often confined to technical domains such as fingerprint analyses. In forensic psychological expertise, likelihood ratios are largely absent. In this contribution, we explain how forensic psychologists can employ likelihood ratios, and we describe two illustrating cases. We also present two studies in which we examined how (Dutch) professional judges appreciate psychological expertise framed in likelihood ratios. Findings suggest that judges ( N = 39) appreciate a fictitious expert witness report framed in likelihood-ratios similarly to an opinion framed one-dimensionally. Judges’ ( N = 79) understanding of a psychological expert opinion framed in likelihood ratios was satisfactory as measured by self-report and an actual test We conclude that, as is custom in forensic technical domains, psychological expert opinion can be expressed in likelihoods. Two of the hypothesised flipsides, namely, lawyers’ dislike of likelihoods, and their lack of proper understanding, may be surmountable.

Judicial Dissent at the International Criminal Court: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis

AbstractThis article explores the phenomenon of judicial dissents at the ICC. The main subject is the process of collective decision-making and judicial deliberations in cases where members of a particular ICC chamber cannot reach a consensus on factual, substantive or procedural issues and render a unanimous decision. The article examines why and when international criminal judges dissent according to the views expressed by ICC judges. Drawing heavily on field research in The Hague, the article presents a qualitative analysis of the ICC judges’ perceptions and experiences of using dissenting opinions at the Court. Empirical findings derived from interviewing ICC judges support the hypothesis that international criminal judges’ personality, that is, their character differences (such as self-discipline and other work habits), their previous career experience, and their field of expertise determine their likelihood of using judicial dissents. In case of disagreement within an ICC Chamber, judges with criminal law backgrounds who previously worked as professional judges are more likely to append their dissent to a majority ruling with which they do not agree than international judges, diplomats, and professors with public international law expertise who are more willing to discuss and negotiate in order for the Court to speak with one voice.

Accused of infanticide

Summary In Belgium, from 1796 until 1867, infanticide was a crime which was legally defined as the deliberate homicide of a new-born child and punished with the death penalty. In the province of West Flanders, for a long time the second most populous province in Belgium, this crime was strongly women-related. As in the other Belgian provinces and abroad, this crime was mainly committed by unmarried domestic servants who lived with their employer and with whom there was no time nor a place for a mother with a child. Infanticide was a crime that was prosecuted before the Court of Assizes of West Flanders and its predecessors. Such prosecutions happened rather exceptionally (109 people in all were prosecuted in West Flanders over a period of 70 years, i.e. an average of 1.5 per year), albeit in a steadily increasing line and with a peak during the years 1850-1867. The Court of Assizes punished this crime only very exceptionally with the statutory death penalty (only in 34 cases, i.e. 31% of the 109 accused). The other 75 accused were either acquitted (58 cases, i.e. 53% of the accused) or punished for another offence (17 cases, i.e. 15.5% of the accused). The acquittals and the punishments for another offence were not the result of the jurors’ or professional judges’ inclination to accept the puerperal insanity of the accused women, but a consequence of the fact that it was exceedingly difficult to prove that a child had been born viable, had lived independently of the mother for a while, and had been killed with the clear intention of killing it, when the child’s mother had given birth without assistance and claimed that the child had been still-born or died from a natural cause.

Nudges for Judges: An Experiment on the Effect of Making Sentencing Costs Explicit.

Judges are typically tasked to consider sentencing benefits but not costs. Previous research finds that both laypeople and prosecutors discount the costs of incarceration when forming sentencing attitudes, raising important questions about whether professional judges show the same bias during sentencing. To test this, we used a vignette-based experiment in which Minnesota state judges (N = 87) reviewed a case summary about an aggravated robbery and imposed a hypothetical sentence. Using random assignment, half the participants received additional information about plausible negative consequences of incarceration. As predicted, our results revealed a mitigating effect of cost exposure on prison sentence term lengths. Critically, these findings support the conclusion that policies that increase transparency in sentencing costs could reduce sentence lengths, which has important economic and social ramifications.