Judges, Who Are They and How Do I Get There? (From Magistraat in de st(r)aat, P 57-70, 1979 - See NCJ-88329)

• NCJ Number: 88333
• Author(s): W E Haak
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: W E J Tjeenk Willink
• Country: Netherlands
• Note: Talk delivered at RAIO (Judicial Officials in Training) Congress, October 11-12, 1979

Annotation

This article details the required characteristics and the selection process for Dutch judges to emphasize the need for making the judiciary a representative body.

Abstract

Judges must be able, on the basis of thorough training, to reach decisions which reflect society's opinion. In doing so, they must be able to abstract and to adjust their own opinions to fit the existing system of laws. For maximum effectiveness, a judge must possess integrity, above average intelligence, legal insight, social skills, and outstanding language ability. In addition, he must be unbiased, flexible, open to other interpretations of the law, and not pedantic or egocentric. Candidates for training in the judiciary are selected by a special selection commission, which makes its decisions on the basis of an ideal judge profile. This selection commission should be reconstituted to include various types of legal specialists from different universities and with different political and social perspectives. A psychologist should be included on the commission. Furthermore, the judicial education program is too theoretically oriented and neglects practical experience. Integrating the training programs for judges and for lawyers may be advisable. Notes are supplied.