Jessica Kerr: Who makes judges? | TED

Transcriber:

翻译人员: Yvfei Cai 校对人员: Bruce Wang

你正处于一个你并不相待的房间中

这之前有不好的事情发生过

你面前有一个穿着制服的陌生人， 他手中掌握着你的命运

You're in a room you don't want to be in.

他是一个法官

Something bad has happened.

四年前，那个法官是我

There's a stranger in a suit with your future in their hands,

人们抬起头看着我，除了相信我毫无选择

A judge.

Four years ago, that judge was me.

那我做了什么使我能够配的上这个职位呢？

The people looking up at me then had no choice but to trust me.

澳大利亚的司法制度在一块神秘的遮盖物下运行

But what had I done to deserve it?

从而避开这些难以回答的问题

Australia's judicial system operates under a shroud of mystique

但是你们有权利去询问

像我一样的人如何为法官这一工作做准备

which fends off tough questions like this.

而那么也许并不会对答案感到满意

But you will have the right to ask

how people like me prepare for the job of judging.

这个制度需要改变

And you may not feel comfortable with the answers.

首先，让我们考虑一下公众的信心

The system needs to change.

澳大利亚的法官不是选拔出来的

To set the scene, first, let's think about public confidence.

但是他们掌握的权力是巨大的

最终，我们信任了这种制度

Judges in Australia are not elected.

因为我们相信法官们最终会做出正确的决断

Yet, the power they wield is immense.

如果我们失去了那种信念

Ultimately, we trust the system

我们有可能使整个体系失去平衡

because we believe that judges generally get it right.

但我们生活在一个对精英的盲目信仰正在急速消失的时代

If we lose that belief,

we risk unbalancing the whole constitution.

法官们对“为什么”这类的问题感到越来越脆弱

But we live in a time when blind faith in elites is eroding fast.

为什么你们配得上我们给你们的权力？

Judges are increasingly vulnerable to the "why" question.

并且他们应该如此

其次，法官必须被视为独立的， 这是至关重要的

Why do you deserve the power we have given you?

And so they should be.

他们应该没有恐惧或者偏爱地去做他们的工作

Second, it's fundamental that judges have to be seen as independent,

为了避免来自当下政府的任何施压

法官们拥有永远不可能削减的高额工资

doing their jobs without fear or favor.

并且他们不能因为他们的言行被开除

To avoid any pressure from the government of the day,

judges have high salaries, which can never be cut,

除非他们有明显的贪污或者发疯

相应的，法官们也同意做到极度克制

and they can't be fired for what they say or do.

无论是在法庭内外

Unless they're obviously corrupt or mad.

当法官被任命时，一种掩饰就被揭了下来

In exchange, judges agree to be ultrarestrained,

这是一种孤独的生活方式

both in and out of court.

并且使人产生了这样一种感觉：法官与我们其他人

A kind of veil comes down when a judge is appointed.

有些不同

It's a lonely way to live,

最后，我可以告诉你们， 所有法官理论上都是按功绩任命的

and it feeds into this sense that judges are somehow different

from the rest of us.

这听起来很不错

理论上亦是如此

Finally, I can tell you that all judges are in theory appointed on merit.

法官的遴选过程是保密的

在很大程度上依赖资深法官的建议

That sounds good.

And in theory it is.

被选择的人都是资深的律师

Judges are chosen in a confidential process

传统上是顶级法庭律师或大律师

which relies heavily on advice from senior judges.

他们每天都在法官面前露面

The people chosen are all experienced lawyers,

traditionally top courtroom lawyers or barristers,

他们都是为这项工作亲自出马的

总的来说，结果令人印象深刻

who spend their days appearing in front of judges.

但当我们说到他们的功绩时，我们真正指的是什么呢？

They're all personally shoulder-tapped for the job,

and the results are in general, pretty impressive.

一方面，大律师在历史上比其他律师

But what do we really mean when we talk about merit?

更男性化、更苍白、更陈腐

For one thing, barristers are historically maler,

这确实说明了一些问题

有人认为，被选为法官的人

paler and staler than other lawyers,

首先是那些提醒现有法官自己的人

which is really saying something.

It's been argued that the people who get chosen as judges are above all,

法官席上的多样性逐渐变得不可忽视

the ones who remind existing judges of themselves.

法官的挑选主要基于

他们在资深法官面前辩论案件的能力

Diversity on the bench is an issue that's become impossible to ignore.

And judges are essentially picked

但这没有任何意义

based on how well they argue cases in front of judges.

让我们将一个法庭和一间手术室相对比

But that doesn't really make sense.

大律师和法官在法庭上都扮演着重要的角色

Let's compare a courtroom and an operating theater.

正如麻醉师和外科医生在一场手术中那样

Barristers and judges both play essential roles in court,

但是你不会仅仅因为麻醉师已经

just like anesthetists and surgeons in an operation.

帮外科医生使病人入睡10年了

就给他一把手术刀

But you don't hand an anesthetist a scalpel

法学的基本技能集或许和医学中的一样

just because he's been putting people to sleep

for the surgeon for 10 years.

但其中的工作却是完全不同的

The underlying skill set may be the same in law as in medicine,

在澳大利亚这样的国家，有关法官的一个奇怪的事实是

but the jobs are fundamentally different.

尽管法官是政府的重要组成部分，但我们已经基本上

The strange truth about judging in countries like Australia

将法官的选择制度私有化了

is that even though judges are such an important part of government,

工作已经完成了，如果真的完成了，

在私人法律界

we've basically privatized the system of making them.

事情是这样的

没有为那些想成为法官的人服务的法官学校

That work is done, if it's done at all,

within the private legal profession.

And here's the thing.

司法任命只被视作一种荣耀

There is no judge school for wannabe judges.

而不是像医生走向专业化的方式那样

作为律师的职业里程碑

Judicial appointment is seen as a badge of honor,

not as a professional milestone that a lawyer builds up to

法官只是律师

直到他们进行司法宣誓的那一天

the way that a doctor works towards specialization.

从那天起只有破釜沉舟的选择

Judges are just lawyers

除非他们不能因为不称职而被解雇

until the day they take the judicial oath.

And from that day it is sink or swim,

你觉得如果你知道

except they can't be fired for incompetence.

在法官的第一个案子中，你的生命岌岌可危， 那会是一种怎样的感觉？

How do you think it would feel

你觉得那个法官他的感觉会如何？

to know your life was on the line in a judge's first ever case?

向法官席的过渡可能是一场火的洗礼。

And how do you think that judge would feel?

作为一名律师，我从来没有办理过犯罪案件

The transition to the bench can be a baptism by fire.

而我当时在地方法院

在塞舌尔

I had never run a criminal trial as a lawyer,

被要求正式宣布一个拘禁12年的判决

and there I was in a magistrate's court

那是我入职的第一个月

in the Seychelles,

那恐怖极了

being asked to hand down 12-year prison sentences

作为一名顶级法庭律师，这样的转变容易吗？

in my first month on the job.

嗯，从某些方面来讲，确实是

It was terrifying.

大律师懂得许多法律

Is it any easier to make that transition as a top courtroom lawyer?

并且多年对法官行为的观察确实能让他们

Well, in some ways, definitely.

对于如何进行工作比别人领先一步

Barristers do know a lot of law

但随着社会的改变

and the years of watching judges in action do give them a head start

我们对于法官的期盼也在发生改变

on how the process works.

越来越多的法官

But as society changes,

需要具备一整套非法律技能

our expectations of judges are changing, too.

他们必须成为管理者和领导者

Judges are increasingly called on

政治上和文化上都精明

for a whole range of extra nonlegal skills.

能够处理无情的审查以及社会孤立

They have to be managers and leaders,

politically and culturally savvy,

我们不一定期望，甚至不重视律师的这些技能

able to handle relentless scrutiny and social isolation.

并且当我们寻求审判人员的多元化时

We don't necessarily expect or even value those skills in a barrister.

这一问题实际上变得更糟糕

如果我们想要更不男性化、更不苍白的法官

And when we aim for a more diverse judiciary,

我们不太可能在大律师室里找全他们

the problem actually gets worse.

If we want less male, less pale judges,

而那些从未在法庭里工作的人们

我们无法期待他们懂得法官该如何工作

we're not likely to find them all in barristers chambers.

无论他们在其他行业多么优秀

And people who haven't spent their working lives in court

can't possibly be expected to just know how judging works,

因此，你最终会面对这样一种情况

no matter how excellent they may be in other ways.

即没有一位新法官真正有可能拥有每一个优点

So what you end up with is a situation where no new judge

但是他们所缺失部分的数量和形状

is actually likely to have every piece of the merit puzzle.

在不同法官之间相差甚远

这怎么会没有问题呢？

But the number and shape of those missing pieces

varies hugely from judge to judge.

为什么我们的体系认为任何人都可以胜任

How is this OK?

如此艰巨的工作？

Why does our system assume that anyone comes ready-made

结果是一些强大的社会因素决定了原因

for such a demanding job?

像我现在一样研究司法结构的人

It turns out there are some pretty strong cultural reasons why.

传统上都拒绝讨论这些幕后问题

例如法官是如何造就的

People who study judiciaries, that's me now,

因为他们害怕被视作干扰了司法的独立性

are traditionally reluctant to talk about behind-the-scenes issues,

我认为这种想法差之千里

like making judges,

for fear of being seen as interfering with judicial independence.

独立性取决于公众的信心

I think this has gone too far.

我们不能再被期望去相信那些不能被解释 或者证明是正确的

Independence depends on public confidence.

但法律精英显然对维持现状感兴趣

And we can no longer be expected to trust what can't be explained and justified.

作为一个律师

But the legal elite have an obvious interest in maintaining the status quo.

批评一个过程令人感到不适

我的律师朋友说这是一个自然的过程

As a lawyer,

it feels uncomfortable to criticize a process

甚至是一种权利

并且让任何一个律师公开谈论如何评判都是困难的

that my barrister friends say is a natural progression,

even a kind of right.

像我一样的人们学习的很快

And getting any lawyer to talk openly about learning how to judge is hard.

知道承认司法野心是不正常的

People like me learn quickly

你可以致力于成为一个大律师，并为之努力

that admitting to judicial ambitions is out of order.

但你不能被看作是在寻找被委任的机会

You can aim to be a barrister, which puts you in the running,

这与医学这样的职业形成鲜明对比

but you can't be seen as angling for an appointment.

法律上的鼓励的都是相反反方向的

The contrast with a profession like medicine couldn't be more stark.

我逐渐意识到

只有在对抗这些文化障碍的时候

The incentives in law are all backwards.

我才有希望

I came to realize

突破从为什么到如何行动的障碍

that it was only in confronting these culture barriers

所以我们怎么讨论如何成为法官？

that I would have any hope of breaking through

from the why to the how.

由政府为它自己的选拔过程承担更多的责任开始

So how do we talk about making judges?

这不只体现在解释为什么选这一个人比那一个更好

It starts with government taking more responsibility for its own processes.

虽然这可能会有所帮助

在我的清单上，最重要的是对法官的持续教育

And not just in explaining why it picks one person over another,

although that would help.

澳大利亚的法官现在确实进入法官学校学习了

At the top of my list is ongoing education for judges.

从某种意义上来说是这样的

但他们一旦开始工作的时候就只能在紧闭的门后

Judges in Australia do actually go to judge school now,

它被称为CPD：持续专业发展

kind of,

but only behind closed doors once they're already on the job.

对于律师和其他现代专业人员来说

It's labeled as CPD: Continuing professional development,

这是完全例行的、强制性的

但是因为没有人应该告诉一个法官要做什么

which is totally routine and compulsory for lawyers

或者如何思考

and other modern professionals.

以防破坏他们的独立性

But because no one is supposed to tell a judge what to do

这全是志愿的

or how to think,

原则上，一个如我的法官可以直接拒绝

in case that undermines their independence,

CPD的标签巧妙地避免了房间里的大象

it's all voluntary.

In principle, a judge like me could just say no.

即每个现代律师都至少需要一些帮助

And that CPD label neatly avoids the elephant in the room,

来学习如何首先成为一名好法官的事实

the fact that every modern lawyer needs at least some help

事实上，在司法教育领域，有一些惊人的工作开始进行

learning how to be a good judge in the first place.

但这还远远不够

There's actually some amazing work starting to happen in judicial education,

在任何情况下

最重要的是任命前的几年

but it is nowhere near enough.

政府在这个阶段没有承担任何责任

And in any case,

it's those pre-appointment years that matter the most.

为了摆脱那些想当法官的污名

Government has taken no responsibility at all here.

被任命者需要自己改变

And to get past that stigma on wannabe judges,

无论是正式的还是非正式的

我们需要思考一条司法职业道路

the profession itself has to change.

并且积极地创造司法上的优点

Whether it happens formally or informally,

we need to be thinking about a judicial career path

我们需要像我一样支持新法官

特别是那些多元化的人

and actively creating judicial merit.

让他们做能使他们成为优秀法官的事情

We need to support young lawyers like me,

而不只是优秀的律师

particularly the diverse ones,

特别是当那些事

to do things that will make them great judges,

并不会使他们作为律师有所提升

not just great lawyers,

事后看来，我希望我当年有过更多的体验

especially when those things

例如社区正义

are not likely to get them promoted as lawyers.

技术和管理

In hindsight, I wish I'd had way more experience

我还很希望我之前能够去上法官学校

in things like community justice,

technology and management.

准备更充足的律师意味着

And I so wish I could have gone to judge school.

为那些选择和管理法官的人提供更好的投入

Better prepared lawyers would mean better inputs

并最终更好地证明这些法官值得你信任

for those people who choose and manage judges

and ultimately better evidence that those judges deserve your trust.

这就是一切的归宿

我们任何一个人，任何一天

都可能发现我们的命运掌握在一个法官手中

And that's what it all comes back to.

Any of us, any day,

在那个时候

我们需要能够直视彼此的眼睛

could find our future in the hands of a judge.

并且知道我们可以信任这个司法体系

In that moment,

we need to be able to look each other in the eye

谢谢

（掌声）

and know we can trust the system.

Thank you.

(Applause)