The effect of cognitive biases on the quality of justice in the decision-making of criminal courts judges

It is obvious that a large part of the quality of a judicial system depends on the quality of the decisions that judges make. Even judges with high experience and knowledge may make some mistakes, but it is expected that judges do not make systematic mistakes. However, based on the results of studies in behavioral economics, it can be said that in different parts of judicial decision-making, including the discovery of case events, assignment of criminal responsibility, and primarily sentencing criminals, some factors affect judges decisions that normatively logically should not be important. Behavioral economics is a branch of economics that tries to make economic assumptions more realistic by using sciences such as psychology and sociology. So describing judicial decisions by using cognitive biases make it closer to the field of criminal sociology and judicial psychology.Recognizing that factors beyond legal issues can influence judicial decisions and judges' behaviors provides the basis for interdisciplinary approaches to explaining judicial decisions and judges behavior. This descriptive-analytical article seeks to explain the above factors and identify possible solutions to improve judicial decisions and increase judicial justice. The proposed solutions can be summarized in the form of in-service training of judges and a more appropriate architecture of decision-making structures.