Basic information			Substance of the ruling			Accessibility of the case and further relevant links
Date	Name of the case (or case number)	The body delivering the decision	Keywords, topic	Executive part	Brief summary	Full text	Page at the website of the issuing court	Page in other databases	Unofficial materials, press communications
December 22. 2021.		Supreme Court of Finland	Criminal procedure; online hearings	The Supreme Court of Finland found in two cases, that the online participation of judges in a criminal trial means a constitutional error.	The Supreme Court of Finland heard two appeals regarding the online participation of judges in criminal trials. One of the judges in Turku participated virtually due to his Covid-19 contamination, while the other judge from Vaasa was retiring therefore requested his online participation. The Supreme Court found, that online participation of a judge means an incorrect form of participation, therefore, amounts to a procedural error. Nevertheless, in the first case, the virtual participation of a judge was reasonable on public health grounds, while in the second case from Vaasa, the virtual attendance of the judge constituted a severe limitation on the defendant's rights, therefore, the case was remanded.		https://perma.cc/98ZK-CWVL		https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2022-01-12/finland-supreme-court-declares-judges-participation-via-videolink-a-procedural-error/