Long nights and short summers don’t seem to have dulled the wit of Torben Melchior, president of the Danish supreme court. He told last weekend’s plenary session of the council of bars and law societies of Europe in Copenhagen that, despite public and media perceptions to the contrary, courts’ sentencing policies are in step with society’s expectations. But, as in Britain, urban myths persist. He told the story of a woman accosting a man in the street to demand compensation for the dog bite she had suffered. ‘He paid out 1,000 euros and the injured woman limped off. "But why did you pay her?" the man’s friend asked. "You don’t even own a dog!" To which the man replied: "Yes, but if it had gone to court, there’s no knowing what might have happened."’