Petteri Palomäki On judicial exchange in Scotland The entrance to Edinburg Sheriff Court, where Petteri Palomäki was Irish Judge Roderick Murphy participated on judicial exchange for a week. in the Judicial Skills training course. I participated in EJTN’s participated in the Judicial Scotland. Of course, from judicial exchange Skills course. The remainder the Nordic perspective, the programme November 19 of my exchange I spent in judicial systems of Scotland to December 1, 2006. In Edinburgh where I became and England do seem addition to the general aims familiar with criminal similar. of the exchange, I was also proceedings processes at interested in the Scottish the Edinburgh Sheriff Court. justice system in a continuing education capacity. My continuing Scotland – the education studies related to exchange destination the efficiency of criminal Scotland has been part of proceedings in Finnish Great Britain since 1707. It district courts. The Anglo- is not an independent state American justice system has despite having its own many perspectives of parliament and limited self- interest to my own rule since 1998. Great At dinner in Dunkeld with Jim endeavours. Britain’s agreement of Scott (left) and Roderick Murphy (right). union has guaranteed The first three days of my Scotland an independent The population of Scotland exchange were spent in the judicial system, the is concentrated between small community of uniqueness of which is the so-called Central Belt Dunkeld, approximately often celebrated in between Glasgow and 150km north of Edinburgh. I Edinburgh. The population manages the training of sitting across from him at density is sparse in parts, judges in Scotland. the evening’s dinner table. and the population of We spoke about many Scotland and Finland are Lectures and video practice issues, including the not sessions were used during roughly the same size. proven verdict. He was of Edinburgh has an the course to train the the opinion that this verdict approximate population of judges. Group discussions is not problematic. My followed the practice 400,000, making it a similar views of the matter failed size as served by the sessions followed by to sway his own. individual feedback for each Tampere (Finland) district judge. The practice court. Scotland makes for sessions’ tasks included an ideal exchange Edinburgh Sheriff charging the jury, destination for someone Court sentencing and resolving from Tampere: Tampere’s The primary familiarisation various judicial process famous black sausage being location of my exchange issues. Communications akin to Scotland’s black was the Edinburgh Sheriff skills were central in these pudding prepared with Court where I observed sessions. blood and barley. criminal proceedings for Charging the jury is an over a week. My host there important aspect of Scottish was judge Charles Stoddart Dunkeld’s Judicial criminal proceedings. It who also was on judicial Skills course occurs at the finishing of exchange to France. He was Fifteen Scottish judges the proceedings and with familiar with a mild participated in the Judicial the participation of all those headache that one may get Skills course. involved in the process as on the first day of an well as their assistants. exchange as a result of new Because the verdict of the surroundings and a foreign jury may not in principle be language. appealed, appeals fall into In Scotland, the severity of the sphere of the jury. the case determines the Unique to Scottish justice is type of court in which the that a criminal proceeding case is heard. The court of verdict may, in addition to first instance is made up of Petteri Palomäki and his host, guilty or not guilty, be not the District Court, Sheriff Edinburgh Sheriff Court judge Court and the High Court of Cahrles Stoddart (on right). proven. The two latter verdicts are judicially not Justiciary. Cases of lesser In addition to me, judges Jill particularly different. The severity are heard in the Black from England and not proven verdict, former court, presided over Roderick Murphy from however, still leaves a by lay judges. The latter Ireland took part in the certain air of suspicion. court hears cases of higher course as visitors. The James Clyde, retired from severity, and is also the course was organised by Britain’s House of Lords, highest court for criminal the independent Judicial held a lecture at the course. proceedings. Disputes may Studies Committee, which I had the great pleasure of be heard in British Finland. In addition to being the final judgement. Parliament’s House of Lords. an oral proceeding, it is also Generally, verdicts of focussed and instant. The criminal proceedings are The Sheriff Court deals with prosecutor and written only in the case of other criminal proceedings, counterparts in turn disputes. With our Scottish presided over by either one examine the witness. The judges we tried to think of judge (summary procedure) role of the judge is passive, sound reasons to go about or one judge and 15 jury particularly in the case of this differently, but we members (solemn trial by jury where the judge didn’t succeed. procedure). Some 20% of is to definitely refrain from cases are heard under the pronouncements that might jury regime. An actual trial compromise the Free time is arranged only with cases impartiality of proceedings On the weekend judge of disputes. Disputes are at hand. Gordon Liddlen, who plays addressed in sittings of the the drums in his band The jury. If the defendant The absence of the Reclaimers, happened to acknowledges the defendant in Scotland is not have a gig on at the Scottish indictment in question, the as big of a problem as it Arts Club. I went to listen to judge will determine the would be in Finland. the band and got to play sentencing. In such a case, Defendants in Scotland are two tunes with them. evidence is not received much more likely to be and the jurors are not incarcerated than in The days in the judicial field required. Acknowledging Finland. Defendants were were long, which is why I the indictment also impacts often brought to trial spent most of my free time sentencing. handcuffed to their guards. more leisurely. In addition Defendants not under to some car touring and incarceration were free visiting the Edinburgh with bail. It was a surprise Castle I had just enough to me that free on bail energy left to visit Dolly the generally was not cloned sheep at the Scottish associated with a sum of National Museum. The lap money, but rather with the dance parlours of Lothian Managing the training of Scottish adherence to specific bail Road, which I had read judges – Morag McCracken and conditions. The most about in Ian Rankin’s Rebus Heather McPhee, course novel, remained unvisited secretaries at Scotland’s Judicial important of these Studies Committee. conditions being a pledge to despite being beside my appear at court proceedings hotel. The earlier the defendant as well as to refrain from acknowledges the committing further criminal indictment the more acts. Violating bail favourable it will be for the conditions means defendant. incarceration. The process of disputes of Evidence discussed by criminal proceedings in jurors during criminal Scotland is similar to that in proceedings does not affect Unique opportunity with a local judge and The author Petteri EJTN’s judicial exchange together discuss Palomäki is a District Court programme offers a unique observations. Getting to Judge at the Tampere know a foreign judge instils opportunity to become District Court in Finland. familiar with another a sense of enjoyable camaraderie, especially judicial culture. This The article has been translated familiarisation happens when you realise that much of the work being done in from its original Finnish version from the inside when the into English. judge on exchange joins a two countries is often quite new working environment similar. It is also beneficial and gets to sit down at the to realise that there are table during proceedings different ways of conducting justice. .