The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-09-28
Trial by Jury in Northern Europe.


MoHAMNGED, forty years ago.
Trial by Jury in Northern Europe.
A Congress Of Scandinavian jurists has
lately been hold ut Christiania, the capital
Of Norway. There were IN attendance upon
its sessions from -four hundred To five hum
drcd members. comprising lawyers. judges
cabinet minister's and Representatives Of the
universities VI tho three Scandinavian king
doms. 1t merits special attention In Eng
land and this country from tho fact that the
chief subject Of discussion was the introduce
tion of the jury system into the judicial pro-
cedurc of Sweden. Norway. and Denmark
To many persons IL may he q surprisc to
learn that the institution Of trial 10y jury
does not already exist in those countries.
Such is the fact, however The Danish Con
stitution Of 1919 provided for the enactment
OF jury laws applicable to criminal cases
and civil suits of political character but
the Parliament Of Denmark has never been
prevailed upon to pass any OF the bills which
have been introduced to carry this provis-
ion into effect. still. most Of the Danish
members who addressed the Congress Of ju-
rists were earnest advocates Of u jury sys-
tenn. on the other hand, those from Sweden
and Norway opposed it. Indeed. the whole
question appears to have been widely and
thoroughly debated in Norway some years
ago when the conclusion was reached that
whatever were the merits Of trial by jury In
other lands, 1t was practically unsuited To
so sparscly populated country.
There can be- no doubt that If the nhah-
itants generally OF these two northern
kingdoms wanted the English method Of
trial by jury, they would have IT. for the
popular element certainly predomInates in
their government II thcrefve becomes
interesting to inquire why they do not
adopt an institution SO cminently character
istic Of u free people. So far a. Norway H.
concerned. the question may perhaps be re-
gnrdcd rs answered by the practical difil-
Guilty already stated. This objection. how
ever that the country il too thinly inhah-
itcd-has not been raised In the sister king
dom Of sweden; nor, indeed, can we suppose
that it would prevail nnywhcr" unless the
people were pretty well satisfied with the
existing administration 81 justice. The in
ference which has been drawn from the
recent discussion at Christiania, that the
people 81 sweden and Norway feel q re-
markablc and exceptional confidence in the
honesty, fairness. ard ability 81 their
Judges. seems 10 rs ntlrely correct.
I'm the history 81 those countries In"
tyranny ~ Judges has brcn almost nm
known. II they had ever suffered from such
Judges rs once sat in England the people
would long since have learned TO look upon
the English system of trial hv jury a. q
fn, nd . ; I, ,ft
course, it Is to be hoped that the existing
confidence In. their own Judges may long
continue rs well founded n II appears to bc
AT present. We must frankly concede, how
ever. that we do not think n like trust could
be safely rcposed in American Judges with
out the cooperation Of juries. or even in
British Judges, high rs their reputation has
come to he. II must not he forgotten that II
is since the jury has assumed It's greatest
influence and Importance that the character
of the English Judge has become the syno-
nyme OF uprlghtncse.
No one seems To have noticed the cuinc-
dencc that just as the free Government Of
Sweden and Norway declines 10 adopt trial
by jury, because lis courts are fair enough
without II, the dcspotic Government OF Rus
STA takes steps to abolish the same iustitu-
ton, on the alleged ground that It's courts
are not fair enough with it, The car has
ordered that offences against the Stat" and
assaults upon public officers shnl no longer
be the subjects 81 jury trial, but shall bee
punished 10y military law The acqnittal Of
VERA SAssULITCH and the difficulty of
securing convictions in some clear cases Of
assassination, afford considerable rcaso for
this action. The turbulent elements Of
society In Russia arc peculiar, and their in
iucncc as manifested through iuros, hns
not always boon confined To the simple
assertion Of political liberty; it has too
often extended to the protection OF dctost-
able crime. Indeed, the experiments with
jury trial on the continent Of Europe go far
to justify the opinion that except among
English-spenking people some degree of
moral preparation must prcccdc its success
full establishment.