Its the front of the main court house for the Tribunal de Grande Instance, the main court for all the lower cases in France. There is one per department and this is the one for the area around Bordeaux. We got a little history lesson from the president of the appellate court in this courtroom. That's right...its a courtroom.
That's not the judge though. Meet Professor Michael Amado, an avocat in Paris. He is our instructor for French and EU law for a week. I must admit, it is a little strange to be taught by a Frenchman who speaks English with British accent. He is a really nice guy and an awesome lecturer. We are squeezing a ton of information into these four hour days. Odd thing though, in this country they have the right to rest and relaxation. So we get a ten minute break at the end of every hour and half an hour half way through the whole thing. The whole country is like that and it is really starting to irritate me. I want to buy good groceries, but the market with all the freshest food opens after we go to class at 8:30 and closes before we get out at 1:00. Besides that, some of the best shops aren't open all the time, not even when they have the hours listed. I just have to accept the fact that things are open when they are open.
Sorry...vented a little there. Now back to the fun stuff I learned in Bordeaux. If you look at the last picture you can see the massive old style chair. That is where the president of the court sat and told us all about Bordeaux's history. The city was ruled by the English for three centuries and was the second city to be given a parlement by the king. As such they are a little rebellious. That explains the giant painting of Christ behind the judge. Amado said this is very strange to see in a courtroom. France is extremely proud of its republique, the revolution, and their ideals of "libertie, eqalite, fraternite." Having enormous paintings of the emperors Napoleon (see below) and Napoleon III (behind Amado on the wall) with a Christ painting behind the judges really goes against the grain of what French law is all about. Makes for a magnificent room though. Here is a picture of us all, with the president in the center.
I know its huge and a little grainy, but it was taken from a ways off and we were in a bit of a rush. Actually none of these pictures are mine, I forgot my camera, idiot I know, but thanks to Anel and Amy, I was able to salvage a story out of my trip to share with all of you.
Here is the little guy, larger than life.
Remember how I mentioned the old clashing with the new happens a lot. Well check this out...
This is on the other side of the building in picture number one. Each one of those spaceship looking things is a courtroom. They are supposed to symbolize kernels of wheat. I am actually not sure how I feel about it. Right next door is the Ecole Nationel de la Magistrature, which has two old towers built in the mid 15th century and a block away is this beautiful cathedral, so its is radically out of place.
No I mentioned the Ecole Nationel de la Magistrature, its the National Judge School. Its not like the United States, every judge in France entered the judge school and passed the exit exam. A great many of them came direct from their masters, which is just a year long program tacked onto the four years of what we call undergraduate school. When all is said and done, some of these new judges are only 23 or 24, and they are deciding the fate of people. No experience except what they gain in three short years of training. Then they are thrown headfirst into the same cases as judges who have been doing it for years. Its really strange to think about how different our two judicial systems are. For example, prosecutors (procurers) and judges go to the same school and are actually considered to be the same profession. One of the strangest things for me to think about is only the most serious crimes (10 plus years incarceration) get juries, and even then the judges retire with the juries and they all decide. You can go to jail here without ever being judge by your peers. One thing though, all French judges go and spend a night in jail. It just seems...unequal though. I got to step into a courtroom while it was in session,no pictures though, that's forbidden. The three judges sit on a raised platform, and the prosecutor sits on the same platform off to the side, traditionally next to the window. The defendant's avocat pleads from the ground up at the judges. It just seemed odd, especially because the defendant in the case I was watching wasn't even there. He was watching from somewhere else via a camera and although we could see him on a television screen, it just seemed odd. Amado told us that the tv screening only recently was allowed for immigration cases, and all others still have to appear in court. But still...I'll just say I am glad I am from the USA.
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