Lay judge: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:16, 9 August 2021

Revision as of 15:10, 5 October 2021

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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 ({{lang|de|urtheiler}}), and various methods were in use in [[Emmendingen]], [[Oppenau]], and [[Oberkirch (Baden)|Oberkirch]].{{sfn|Forsyth|1852|p=369}} [[Hauenstein]]'s charter of 1442 secured the right to be tried in all cases by 24 fellow equals, and in [[Freiburg im Breisgau|Friburg]] the jury was composed of 30 citizens and councilors.{{sfn|Forsyth|1852|p=370}} The modern jury trial was first introduced in the [[Rhineland|Rhenish provinces]] in 1798, with a court consisting most commonly of 12 citizens ({{lang|de|[[:wiktionary:Bürger|Bürger]]}}).{{sfn|Forsyth|1852|p=369}}

The system whereby citizens were tried by their peers chosen from the entire community in open court was gradually superseded by an "engine of tyranny and oppression" in Germany in which the process of investigation was secret and life and liberty depended upon judges appointed by the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 Monarchy]] in 1786.{{sfn|Forsyth|1852|p=370}} The [[Frankfurt Constitution]] of the failed [[Revolutions of 1848 in the German states|Revolutions of 1848]] called for jury trials for "the more serious crimes and all political offenses",{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=137}} but was never implemented. An 1873 draft on criminal procedure produced by the [[Prussia]]n Ministry of Justice proposed to abolish the jury and replace it with the mixed system, causing a significant political debate.{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=139}}

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 {{lang|de|Schöffengericht}} (lay judge or mixed court).{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=138}} The German code on court constitution called {{lang|de|[[Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz]]}} (GVG) of 27 January 1877 provided that the {{lang|de|Schwurgericht}} (jury court) would consist of three judges and twelve jurymen,{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=138}}{{sfn|Wolff|1944|loc=footnote 7, pp. 1069-1070}}{{sfn|Wolff|1944|p=1074}} alongside the mixed court, with the jury court reserved for serious crimes except political crimes.{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=139}} Lay judges were in use in the [[Bavaria]]n [[People's Court (Bavaria)|People's Court]] of November 1918 to May 1924,{{sfn|Bauer|2009}}{{sfn|Volksgericht|1924}}{{sfn|Fulda|2009|p=69}} and the infamous [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] [[People's Court (Germany)|People's Court]].{{sfn|Casper|Zeisel|1972|p=141}}