Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren and Judge Victoria Pratt are on a week-long visit at the invitation of Community Justice Scotland, a public agency that aims to reduce reoffending.

Judge Lerner-Wren pioneered the first therapeutic mental health court in the US which seeks to divert mentally ill people, charged with misdemeanour and non-violent offences, into community-based treatment as an alternative to custody.

Judge Pratt is recognised as an expert in procedural justice and alternative sentencing. She believes in involving the accused in the courtroom, and her TED talk – a global initiative of talks about ideas worth spreading – is entitled How Judges Can Show Respect. It has been translated into 11 languages and has received more than one million views.

Procedural justice provides that people treated fairly and with dignity and respect are more likely to respect the courts and not re-offend.

“Not only does it increase the public’s trust in the system, it increases compliance with orders and most importantly it increases compliance with the law,” Judge Pratt told the BBC.

Judge Lerner-Wren added that her mental health court eschews the customary courtroom formality.

“It’s welcoming,” she said. “It’s like: ‘I’m so happy to have you, welcome, welcome to mental health court. How can we help you? We are here to serve you’.”

“It’s literally taking a criminal court and turning it inside out, and instead of looking to punish, looking to help. That’s the innovation of problem solving courts and the application of procedural justice.

“It’s using the authority of the judge to build that human connection and that is having a revolutionary impact on criminal justice and court process.”

The judges will also be taking part in free Faculty of Advocates event on Thursday.