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As many as eight students of law and journalism have become acquainted with the functions of a judge at the Supreme Court of Lithuania in relation to this year’s project “Day with a Judge”.

President of the Court Rimvydas Norkus was pleased to see young people interested in the judge’s profession and was glad to be able to show them the daily routine of courts at close range. “We are always pleased to communicate with youth, listen to their opinions, curious and sincere questions. We are open and well-meaning. We hope that in the future at least some graduates of law will consider their career in the court system,” said the Head of the Court of Cassation.

“The post of a judge is responsible and closest to the actual law,” noted Mr. Norkus.

According to Romanas Klingeris and Gabrielius Matonis, the students of the Faculty of Law at Vilnius University, who participated in this project for the second time, an opportunity to communicate with judges is very important and provides considerable practical knowledge. “It took no more than an hour of a visit to the Supreme Court of Lithuania to surpass all our expectations. It was interesting not only to watch a criminal case hearing at this court, observe the argument fight between lawyers and prosecutors, but also to see the judges’ ability to manage judicial proceedings and the emotions of the parties involved in these proceedings,” the second-year students shared their impressions.

According to future lawyers, an open discussion with the judge presiding in the case was the most interesting part of the day. “We had many rather irksome questions. We were glad to receive sincere answers from judges and we admired their simplicity and inspiring professionalism. We may confirm that there is no room for arrogance in this court,” smiled the students when talking about the day spent with Artūras Pažarskis, one of the judges of the Supreme Court.

Judge Gediminas Sagatys who accompanied Greta Ačaitė and Kornelija Urbaitė, the students of the Faculty of Law at Vytautas Magnus University, stated that this day had become memorable for him too, since he had been pleasantly surprised at the sincere concern of the students over the relevant issues of the court. “We talked about the selection of cassation appeals and I also confessed about inner considerations when making important decisions,” the judge, who specialises in civil cases, was frank.

Algis Norkūnas, another judge of the Supreme Court of Lithuania, involved Evelina Vaišvilaitė, a student of the Faculty of Law at Vilnius University, in a serious discussion and listened to the first-year student’s arguments as well as the potential draft decision. Both participants of the “Day with a Judge” agreed to have a more detailed discussion after the actual court ruling is pronounced.

“Today we have met a person who loves his profession,” Urtė Karsakovaitė, a student of journalism at Vilnius University, and Matas Gudinavičius, a first-year student of the Faculty of Law, said about judge Aurelijus Gutauskas. During the conversation with the students, the judge talked about the most memorable cases, the experienced emotional load, the importance of inner conviction and simple humanity that changes lives. “I have the case in my mind wherever I go and it is really difficult to disassociate from it, yet it is a job that gives meaning to the actual law,” highlighted the judge.

The purpose of the project “Day with a Judge”, initiated by the National Courts Administration and held for the third year already, is to better acquaint students with the profession of a judge, show them how a typical judge’s day looks like and answer the questions that students care about.

The final stage of this project is scheduled on 30 November.

Further information on the project and Lithuanian courts is available at www.teismai.lt. Detailed information on the Supreme Court of Lithuania is available at www.lat.lt.