Dr. Kenneth Burns:

In a number of Scandinavian countries, including Switzerland, Finland and Norway, there is a panel of decision makers. The judge is usually the chair and the panel could include someone with social work or child protection expertise, a psychologist or what is described as a lay person. These could be local councillors or politicians. I am not sure how that would work here or whether it would be permissible because I am not a constitutional lawyer. The Scandinavian model broadens the responsibility for decisions because in fairness to judges, these are very difficult and serious decisions to make, often in isolation from one's peers. The question arises as to whether better decisions would be made if we had a broader panel of decision makers. At a minimum, even if the decision needs to be made by the judge, then at least he or she has immediate access to independent experts.