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{{short description|Person assisting a judge in a trial}}
A '''lay judge''', sometimes called a lay [[assessor (law)|assessor]], is a person assisting a [[judge]] in a trial. Lay judges are used in some [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] jurisdictions. Lay judges are appointed volunteers and often require some legal instruction. However, they are not permanent officers. They attend proceedings about once a month, and often receive only nominal or "costs covered" pay. Lay judges are usually used when the country does not have [[jury|juries]]. Lay judges may be randomly selected for a single trial (as jurors are), or politically appointed. In the latter case they may usually not be rejected by the prosecution, the defense, or the permanent judges. Lay judges are similar to [[magistrates of England and Wales]], but magistrates sit about twice as often.
==In different countries==
=== Austria ===
{{
In criminal proceedings, lay judges sit alongside professional judges on cases carrying a maximum punishment of more than five years, as well as for [[political crime]]s. Lay judges are also used in labor, social, and commercial law disputes.
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{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2018}}
In Brazil,
=== Finland ===
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Lay judges are appointed by local municipal councils, in practice by negotiations between political parties, from among volunteers. Each municipality elects a number of lay judges depending on its size, with two as the minimum. The minimum qualifications are Finnish citizenship, full citizenship rights (a lay judge may not be a dependent or in bankruptcy), 25–64 years of age when elected, and general suitability for the position. Lay judges must resign at the age of 68 at the latest. Officials of the judicial, law enforcement or corrections authorities, such as prosecutors, attorneys, policemen, distrainers or customs officers, may not be elected as lay judges.
New legislation (2009) has limited the role of lay judges. They are employed only in serious criminal cases, which comprised 6% of cases in 2013, while 29% of cases were handled in writing and 65% with a single professional judge. Almost all (>94%) cases concerning homicide, child molestation and
=== Germany ===
{{
Except for most crimes for which the [[trier of fact]] is a single professional judge, and serious [[political crime]]s which are tried before a panel of professional judges, in the [[judiciary of Germany]] all charges are tried before mixed tribunals on which lay judges (''{{lang|de|Schöffen}}''; a kind of lay judge) sit side by side with professional judges.{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=141}} Section 263 of the German Code of Criminal Procedure requires a two-thirds majority for most decisions unfavorable to the defendant; denial of probation by simple majority is an important exception.{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=141}} In most cases lay judges do not directly examine documents before the court or have access to the case file.{{sfn|Malsch|2009|p=137}}
The only statutory criterion is that lay judges must be citizens who have not been convicted of, or been under investigation for, a serious crime.{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=182}} However, people "ought not" to be chosen if they are under 25 years old or over 70 years old, very high government officials, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, policemen, ministers, or priests, or
Lay judges are selected by a selection committee from lists that are approved by municipal councils (''{{lang|de|[[:de:Gemeinderat (Deutschland)|Gemeinderat]]}}'') with a two-thirds majority of attending local councilors.{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=182}}{{sfn|Bell|2006|p=153}} The selection committee consists of a judge from the [[Amtsgericht]], a representative of the state government, and ten "trusted citizens" (''{{lang|de|Vertrauenspersonen}}'') who are also elected by two-thirds of the municipal council, and selects from the list of candidates the number needed to staff the various tribunals.{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=182}}{{sfn|Bell|2006|p=153}} The practice was similar in [[East Germany]].{{sfn|Wolfe|1994|pp=503-504}}
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=== Israel ===
While all criminal cases in Israel are tried by professional judges without any lay participation, cases in the [[Labor Courts of Israel]], which hear labor disputes and cases involving Israel's social security system, are heard by professional judges sitting alongside lay judges. Cases in the Regional Labor Courts are heard by a single professional judge alongside two lay judges, one of whom has experience in the labor sector and another with experience in management, while appeals to the National Labor Court, which hears appeals from the Regional Labor Courts, are heard by three professional judges alongside a lay judge from the labor side and a lay judge from the management side. Lay judges in Israeli labor courts are appointed by the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Labor, and serve for a three-year period. They have equal voting power to the professional judges.<ref>https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/research/ILJ/upload/Colby-final.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>
The military court system of the [[Israel Defense Forces]] also employs officers as lay judges. Hearings in district military courts are generally presided over by a professional military judge and two officers who serve in units based in the court's regional district who generally do not have a legal background. Hearings in the [[Military Court of Appeals]], the supreme military court of Israel, are generally presided over by two professional judges and one officer acting as a lay judge.
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=== Japan ===
{{main|Lay judges in Japan}}
A system for trial by jury was first introduced in 1923 under [[Prime Minister]] [[Katō Tomosaburō]]'s administration. Although the system generated relatively high acquittal rates,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Johnson |first=David T. |title=Early Returns from
=== Norway ===
{{
{{More citations needed section|date=November 2018}}
In the [[district court (Norway)|district courts of Norway]], lay judges sit alongside professional judges in mixed courts in most cases.{{sfn|Malsch|2009|p=47}} In most cases, two lay judges sit alongside one professional judge. The court leader (''Sorenskriver'') may decree that a case have three lay judges sitting alongside two professional judges if its workload is particularly large or if there are other significant reasons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1981-05-22-25/KAPITTEL_5-5#§293|title=Lov om rettergangsmåten i straffesaker (Straffeprosessloven). Femte del. Saksbehandlingens enkelte ledd.|language=no|access-date=1 August 2014}}</ref> Decisions are made by [[majority|simple majority]].{{sfn|Malsch|2009|p=47}}
Lay judges also serve in criminal cases in the [[Court of appeal (Norway)|appellate courts]].
In the [[Supreme Court of Norway|Supreme Court]], there are no lay judges.
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=== Serbia ===
In Serbian courts, certain criminal and civil cases are heard by panels composed of professional and lay judges, while others are heard solely by professional judges. In non-litigious civil proceedings regarding housing rights, cases are heard by one professional judge and two lay judges. In criminal proceedings, cases which are punishable by more than eight and up to twenty years' imprisonment are heard by a single professional judge and two lay judges, while cases involving offenses punishable by between thirty and forty years' imprisonment are heard by panels composed of two professional judges and three lay judges.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vk.sud.rs/en/jurisdiction-courts-0|title = Jurisdiction of courts|date = 4 April 2014}}</ref>
=== Sweden ===
{{
In first- and second-tier Swedish courts, both in the general and the administrative hierarchy, politically appointed lay judges (''{{lang|sv|nämndemän}}'') sit alongside professional judges in district and appellate general and administrative courts, but decide virtually no civil cases.{{sfn|Terrill|2009|pp=248–249}}<ref>[http://www.domstol.se/templates/DV_InfoPage____2367.aspx Courts of Sweden: District court judgment] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406041651/http://www.domstol.se/templates/DV_InfoPage____2367.aspx |date=2018-04-06 }}, retrieved on February 1, 2010</ref> Lay judges are always in the majority in [[District courts of Sweden|district courts]], whereas the professional judges are in the majority in the [[Courts of appeal in Sweden|appellate courts]].
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[[Municipal assembly (Sweden)|Municipal assemblies]] appoint lay judges for the district courts and the [[County Councils of Sweden|county councils]] appoint lay judges for the appellate and county administrative courts.{{sfn|Terrill|2009|pp=248–249}} They are appointed for a period of 4 years, and may not refuse appointment without valid excuse such as an age of 60 years.{{sfn|Terrill|2009|pp=248–249}} Typically, a lay judge will serve one day per month in court during his or her tenure.
In principle, any adult can become a lay judge.{{sfn|Malsch|2009|p=48}} Lay judges must be Swedish citizens and
The use of lay judges in Sweden goes back to the Middle Ages.
=== Denmark ===
{{Further|Courts of Denmark}}
Approximately 15,000 lay judges currently serve in all Danish courts except the [[Supreme Court (Denmark)|Supreme Court]]. Lay judges are selected from the population for a period of four years, and have essentially equal influence to the professional judges in determining guilt and sentencing. In regional courts, two lay judges sit alongside one professional judge, and decisions are made by [[majority|simple majority]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.domstol.dk/til-dig-der-er/laegdommer/|title=Lay judges (Denmark)|publisher=Danmarks Domstole|language=da|date=15 November 2024}}</ref>
Civil participation in the judicial system, including criminal justice, is mandated by section 65 of the [[Constitution of Denmark]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.dk/da/folkestyret/domstolene/byret-landsret-og-hoejesteret/|title = Courts (Denmark)|publisher=Folketinget|language=da}}</ref>
=== Taiwan ===
{{main|Lay judges in Taiwan}}
President [[Tsai Ing-wen]] discussed the implementation of lay judges within the Taiwanese legal system in 2016, and later convened the National Conference on Judicial Reform, which met through 2017. In July 2020, the [[Legislative Yuan]] passed the National Judges Act to regulate lay judges. The
==Historical examples==
=== Germany ===
There have been lay judges in Germany since early times.{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=137}} A [[Swabia]]n ordinance of 1562 called for the summons of jurymen (
The system whereby citizens were tried by their peers chosen from the entire community in open court was gradually superseded by an "engine of tyranny and oppression" in Germany in which the process of investigation was secret and life and liberty depended upon judges appointed by the state.{{sfn|Forsyth|1852|p=371}} In [[Konstanz|Constance]] the jury trial was suppressed by decree of the [[Habsburg
The [[Kingdom of Hanover]] during the Confederation was the first to provide a mixed system of judges and lay judges in 1850, which was quickly adopted by a number of other states, with the Hanoverian legislation providing the model for the contemporary
The [[jury]] was abolished by the [[Emminger Reform]] of 4 January 1924,{{sfn|Kahn-Freund|1974|loc=footnote 73, p. 18}} ostensibly as an emergency, money-saving measure in a period of acute financial stringency,{{sfn|Vogler|2005|p=244}} during an [[Article 48 (Weimar Constitution)|Article 48]] state of emergency and its [[enabling act#In Germany|enabling act]] caused by events surrounding the [[occupation of the Ruhr]].{{sfn|Mulligan|2005|p=173}}{{sfn|Shirer|1990|p=64}} The emergency decree abolished the jury in the
Nowadays,
Its three competences are
a) mainly heavy crimes resulting in death of a person (except negligence), or similar heavy crimes like inducing nuclear explosion, and crimes that may result in a punishment over four years, acting as first instance for those crimes,▼
b) for preventive detention decisions or official consignment to a mental hospital, and▼
{{ordered list|type=lower-alpha
c) if complexity or difficulty of the case requires a third professional judge.▼
▲
While a
{{sfn|GVG§74|2013}}{{sfn|GVG§76|2013}}
In 1979, the United States tried the [[East Germany|East German]] [[LOT Flight 165 hijacking]] suspects in the [[United States Court for Berlin]] in West Berlin, which declared the defendants had the right to a jury trial under the [[United States Constitution]], and hence were tried by a West German jury.
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Trial by jury was first introduced in the [[Russian Empire]] as a result of the [[Judicial reform of Alexander II]] in 1864, and abolished after the [[October Revolution]] in 1917.{{sfn|Terrill|2009|pp=438-439}}
Lay judges were in use in the [[Soviet Union]].{{sfn|Riha|1969|p=641}} After a 1958 reform they were elected for 2 years at general meetings of colleagues at their place of work or residence, or at higher levels appointed by the soviet.{{sfn|Riha|1969|p=641}} The
The [[jury trial]] was reintroduced in [[Russia]] in 1993, and extended to another 69 regions in 2003.{{sfn|Terrill|2009|pp=438-439}}
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* {{cite web | title= Volksgerichte, 1918-1924 | first= Franz J. | last= Bauer | work= [[:de:Historisches Lexikon Bayerns|Historisches Lexikon Bayerns]] | date= 23 December 2009 | url= http://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/artikel/artikel_44638}}
* {{cite book | title= Judiciaries Within Europe: A Comparative Review | first= John | last= Bell | publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]] | year= 2006 | isbn= 978-0-521-86072-7 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Hw47iqneTnIC&pg=PA153}}
* {{cite book | title= Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies | last= Bell | first= John | chapter= Lay Judges | volume= 3 | year= 2004 | publisher= Hart | editor1-first= Alan | editor1-last= Dashwood | editor2-first= John | editor2-last= Bell | editor3-first= Angela | editor3-last= Ward | isbn= 978-1-84113-361-4 | chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mEIayVZORAQC&pg=PA299 | quote= The choice by the local community is now reflected in the appointment of the nämnd by the local authority. … Nämndemän are usually chosen from members of the authority in proportion to the political representation at the last local elections.}}
* {{cite book | title= European Constitutional History | last= Case | first= Nelson | year= 1902 | publisher= Jennings & Pye | oclc= 608806061 | url= https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_G2t9AAAAMAAJ | page= [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_G2t9AAAAMAAJ/page/n151 139]}}
* {{cite book | title= The Accused: A Comparative Study | first = John Archibald | last= Coutts | series= British Institute Studies in International and Comparative Law | volume= 3 | year= 1966 | publisher= [[British Institute of International and Comparative Law]] | oclc= 470998549 | quote= After the Second World War, that is, from 1948 to 1950, the State of Bavaria once again introduced trial by jury. Such courts were however abolished when in 1950 uniformity was once again applied to court procedure in the Federal Republic.}}
* {{cite book | title= European Criminal Procedures | first= Mireille | last= Delmas-Marty | publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]] | year= 2002 | isbn= 978-0-521-59110-2 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=epTsD3_6DVMC&pg=PA306}}
* {{cite book | title= History of Trial by Jury | last= Forsyth | first= William | author-link= William Forsyth (QC) | year= 1852 | publisher= J. W. Parker | oclc= 29739821 | url= https://archive.org/details/historytrialbyj01forsgoog | page= [https://archive.org/details/historytrialbyj01forsgoog/page/n389 369]}}
* {{cite journal | title= Lay Judges in the German Criminal Courts | first1 = Gerhard | last1= Casper | author-link1= Gerhard Casper | first2= Hans | last2= Zeisel | author-link2= :de:Hans Zeisel | journal= [[Journal of Legal Studies]] | volume= 1 | issue= 1 | date= January 1972 | pages = 135–191 | doi = 10.1086/467481 | jstor= 724014| s2cid = 144941508 }}
* {{cite book | title= Press and politics in the Weimar Republic | first= Bernhard | last= Fulda | year= 2009 | publisher= [[Oxford University Press]] | isbn= 978-0-19-954778-4 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=StNY-71yVXQC&pg=PA69}}
* {{cite book | title= Criminal Justice in Germany | first= Jörg-Martin | last= Jehle | author2= German Federal Ministry of Justice | author2-link= Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany) | publisher= Forum-Verl | year= 2009 | isbn= 978-3-936999-51-8 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-V-ng-8jOoQC&pg=PA23 | ref= {{harvid|Jehle|BMJ|2009}}}}
* {{cite journal | title= On Uses and Misuses of Comparative Law | first = Otto | last= Kahn-Freund | author-link= Otto Kahn-Freund | journal= [[Modern Law Review]] | volume= 37 | issue= 1 | date= January 1974 | pages = 1–27 | doi = 10.1111/j.1468-2230.1974.tb02366.x | jstor= 1094713| doi-access= free }}
* {{Cite book | title = The Kosovo Conflict and International Law: An Analytical Documentation 1974-1999 | first = Heike | last = Krieger | year = 2001 | author-link= :de:Heike Krieger | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] | isbn = 978-0-521-80071-6 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-OhPTJn8ZWoC&pg=PA32}}
* {{cite book | title= Can Liberal Pluralism be Exported?: Western Political Theory and Ethnic Relations in Eastern Europe | first1= Will | last1= Kymlicka | first2= Magdalena | last2= Opalski | year= 2001 | author-link1= Will Kymlicka | publisher= Oxford University Press | isbn= 978-0-19-924063-0 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=NNWHtqBJcGwC&pg=PA142}}
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* {{cite book | title= A World View of Criminal Justice | series= International and Comparative Criminal Justice | first= Richard | last= Vogler | year= 2005 | publisher= Ashgate Publishing | isbn= 978-0-7546-2467-7 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rN90FSGhr-cC&pg=PA245}}
* {{cite book | title= International Territorial Administration: How Trusteeship and the Civilizing Mission Never Went Away | last= Wilde | first= Ralph | year= 2010 | publisher= Oxford University Press | isbn= 978-0-19-957789-7 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Jny2BlhT0egC&pg=PA85}}
* {{cite journal | title= Criminal Justice in Germany | first = Hans Julius | last= Wolff | author-link= :de:Hans Julius Wolff (Rechtshistoriker) | journal= [[Michigan Law Review]] | volume= 42 | issue= 6 | date= June 1944 | doi = 10.2307/1283584 | at= footnote 7, pp. 1069-1070 | jstor= 1283584| url = https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol42/iss6/7 | url-access= subscription }}
* {{cite journal | title= Lay Judges in German Criminal Courts: The Modification of an Institution | first= Nancy Travis | last= Wolfe | journal= [[Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society]] | volume= 138 | issue= 4 | date= December 1994 | pages= 495–515 | jstor= 986849}}
* {{cite book | title= Der Hitler-Prozeß vor dem Volksgericht in München |trans-title=The Hitler Trial Before the People's Court in Munich | year= 1924 | ref= {{harvid|Volksgericht|1924}}}}
* {{cite web | url=http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gvg/__74.html | title= Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz(GVG)-Einzelnorm §74 No.(2) | last1= GVG§74 | year= 2013 | publisher= Bundesministerium der Justiz & juris GmbH | access-date=9 July 2013}}
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== External links ==
*[http://www.kohus.ee/7545 Estonian lay judges] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091201183256/http://www.kohus.ee/7545 |date=2009-12-01 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090331092838/http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/issues/issues03.html Saiban-in (Lay Judge) System], [[Ministry of Justice (Japan)|Ministry of Justice]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090522054432/http://www.saibanin.courts.go.jp/news/video5.html Government video explaining new jury system] (Japanese)
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Legal professions]]
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