Are judges cold, robotic bastions of pure logic or real human beings that live in a society and take life experience into account when making decisions? Which one is preferable?

Looks like that argument has gotten air time lately in both China and the US. Neither discussion is new, but the rhetoric certainly sounds different, depending on where you are.

Let’s take a look at what China’s Chief Justice says about the subject, then we’ll compare that to what some in the US consider to be the ideal judge.

China’s chief justice has urged people’s courts around the country to make more efforts to maintain social harmony by improving the judges’ ability to better resolve public grievance and resentment.

The people’s courts at all levels should organize more professional trainings for the judges to improve their practical abilities required for better handling the people’s discontent, Wang said.

The courts should encourage more young judges to work at grassroots positions in which they will encounter complaints and deal with group incidents in the front line, he said. [Xinhua]

Two comments. First, some advice to anyone with a dispute in a Chinese court or arbitration body. Don’t be surprised if the judge or arbitrator pushes for an “amicable” settlement. We’ve seen this before in the past during periods of time when the spirit of the Harmonious Society is being highlighted by the central government. Looks like we’re entering into another one of those.

Second, the US is currently going through a contentious political battle over the nomination of a very experienced Appeals Court judge to take a spot on the US Supreme Court. The nominee was attacked, for no substantive reason (i.e., it was 100% political), for letting her life experience skew her judicial reasoning.

If the Senate confirmation hearings showed us anything, it was that the language above about public grievances and dealing with peoples’ complaints would not go over well with Republicans. Funny how the highest principles claimed by the Chinese government (maintaining a Harmonious Society) are seen as anathema to the healthy operation of the judiciary by some Americans.