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The role of lay judges in the legal system is a matter of considerable importance. Lay judges are not only numerous, but they play an especially important part in many branches of law. Yet they are often ignored in general statements on the judicial role or in discussions by professional judges. Concepts like ‘Judicial Independence’ focus almost exclusively on the professional judge and the conditions for her operational effectiveness. The Council of Europe Recommendation on judicial independence recognises that some principles apply to lay judges as well as to professional judges. But the text amounts to a rather grudging recognition.
1 Council of Europe Recommendation R (94) 12 on ‘The Independence, Effectiveness and the Role of Judges’.
2 Delmas-Marty, M and Spencer, J (eds), European Criminal Procedures (Cambridge UP 2002)Google Scholar at 248 and 298 respectively.
3 Hutton, N and Bankowski, Z, Lay Justice? (Edinburgh University Press 1986)Google Scholar.
4 Bankowski, Z, Living Lawfully (Kluwer 2001), 114–24CrossRefGoogle Scholar and ch 9.
5 Atiyah, PS and Summers, RS, Form and Substance in Anglo-American Law (Oxford UP 1987), 411 Google Scholar.
6 Clark, DS, ‘The Selection and Accountability of Judges in West Germany: Implementation of a Rechtsstaat ’ (1986) 61 University of Southern California Law Review 1794 Google Scholar at 1830.
7 Auld, Lord Justice, Review of Criminal Courts in England and Wales (Lord Chancellor’s Department 2001), ch 4 Google Scholar, § 33.
8 Ibid, §§ 30–32, 34.
9 See Samuel, G, Epistemology and Method in Law (Ashgate 2003), ch 5 Google Scholar.
10 See Gavala, RC, El Juez de Paz en la Ordenación Jurisdiccional Española (Ministry of Justice 1989)Google Scholar.
11 Ibid, p 68. This was the solution proposed in the preliminary draft law of 1968, but which gave the juez de paz essentially the role of dealing with disputes between neighbours in equity. It was the 1970 revision which firmly stressed the role of the juez de paz as delegate of the professional judge.
12 For previous requirements see Gavala, above note 10 at 227–32, note 94.
13 See in particular the arguments of Moreno, ibid at 230–39.
14 Ibid, at 217ff.
15 A magistrado is a more senior judge, a position to which most jueces are promoted after 7 or so years of service.
16 CGPJ, Libro Blanco (Madrid 1996), 34 Google Scholar.
17 Ministry of Justice website: http://www.mju.es.
18 On this see Merino-Blanco, E, The Spanish Legal System (Sweet & Maxwell 1996) at 180–86Google Scholar.
19 Report of Sáez Valcárcel, JR, Informe sobre la Aplicación de la Ley Orgánica de Tribunal del Jurado desde el 1 de Abril de 1997 al 31 de Marzo de 1998 (CGPJ 1999)Google Scholar.
20 Ibid, p 6. For example, it appears to take at least half a day to empanel a jury because of objections by the parties and excuses offered by the jury: p 36. This suggests a need to develop an appropriate culture among defence lawyers.
21 ‘Elite jurídica española’ (1987) 53 Documentacion Juridica at 62.
22 Ibid at 91 and 116.
23 Toharia, J-J, Opinión pública y justicia. La imagen de la justicia en la sociedad española (CGPJ 2001), 124 Google Scholar.
24 Modéer, KÅ, Den svenska domarkulturen (Corpus Iuris Förlag 1994) 41 Google Scholar.
25 Framtidens nämndemän (Betänkande från Nämndemannakommittén) SOU 2002:61 (June 2002).
26 Nämndemännens riksförbund (NRF) (homepage: http://hem.passagen.se/n.r.f/).
27 Diesen, C Lekmän som Domare (Norsteds Juridik 1996), at, 140–41Google Scholar.
28 Ministry of Justice press release, ‘Utredning för att breda rekryteringen av nämndemän till landets domstolar’, 30 November 2000.
29 See Reformingen av domstolsväsende (DOV 1994) 32–33, requesting a broader social base than at present.
30 The lay judges in chambers dealing with commercial cases, agricultural, finance, labour, social and professional courts are appointed because of their expertise in the subject-matter of the court’s work. Judges appointed to these chambers are also appointed as representatives of a particular sectional interest.
31 A good introduction is provided on the website of the Deutsche Vereinigung der Schöffinnen und Schöffen: http;//www.schoeffen.de.
32 The prosecution may ask for two professional judges in more difficult cases.
33 See, for example, the introductory booklet for lay judges in administrative courts ‘Die ehre namtlichen Richter in der Verwaltungsgerichtsbarkeit’ from the Senatsverwaltung für Justiz, Berlin 2000, para 3.2.
34 Brusten, M, ‘Wie wird man Schöffe?’ in Lieber, H and Sens, U (eds), Ehrenamtliche Richter. Demokratie oder Dekoration am Richtertisch? (Kommunal- und Schul-Verlag 1999)Google Scholar (hereafter ‘Lieber and Sens’) at 77.
35 Bundesministerium der Justiz, ‘Geschlects, - Alters- und Berufsstruktur der Schöffen im Bundesgebiet im Vergleich mit der Bevölkerungsstruktur’ (report 3221–1–51 0016/97).
36 Under § 35 GVG, among the excuses for service as a Schöffen is that the person selected is over 65 or will be over 65 when the period of service is over. Thus those in this age group who are serving as Schöffen are predominantly volunteers.
37 See Sigismund, E, ‘Zur Funktion der ehrenamtlichen Richter im Strafverfahren in Deutschland’ (Ministry of Justice, Bonn 28 April 1999)Google Scholar (hereafter ‘Sigismund’), 11.
38 Reichert, J West German Lay Judges: Recruitment and Representativeness (University of Florida Press 1983) 66 Google Scholar, cited in Clark above n 6 at 1832.
39 Lieber and Sens, above n 34 at 78–84.
40 See K Eschen in Lieber and Sens, above n 34 at 56–59.
41 The programme offered by the DVS is available on its website. This involves both induction and general continuing education themes.
42 Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Estadísticas judiciales 2001: see http://www.ine.es.
43 See the CGPJ, Memoria anual 2002 (Madrid 2002), 244 Google Scholar.
44 Diesen, above note 27 at 255. Similar words are used by the government in Regeringens skrivelse 1999/2000:106, Reformingen av domstolsväsendet—en handlingsplan, 32. The importance of public confidence in the legal system and of democratic principles is also stated by the committee on judges in 1994: SOU 1994:99, 302.
45 Participation by nämndemän in the appeal courts was originally proposed in 1931 and was debated at several times thereafter before the 1977 reforms: see SOU 94:99, 180–84.
46 Diesen, above note 27 at 337–38. ‘The Swedish nämndemän can therefore be characterised as a jointly responsible co-judge without legal knowledge.’(ibid at 331).
47 In a 1994 survey, 70% of professional judges thought that more expertise in specialist areas among nämndemän would be helpful: Diesen, above n 27 at 369.
48 Diesen above note 27 at 315–36. On the work of lay judges in the appeal courts, see SOU 1994:99, 310–11.
49 Diesen above note 27 at 316–17. Good working relationships are traditional—in the 19th century there was often overnight accommodation provided in the courts for the nämndemän if they had come from a distance and there would be convivial relations between them and the professional judges out of court: see Modéer, Domarkulturen above n 24 at 41.
50 See ‘Die ehrenamtlichen Richter in der Verwaltungsgerichtsbarkeit’ (Senatsverwaltung für Justiz, Berlin 2000), §§ 4.3–4.5.
51 Ibid, § 4.7.
52 See U Vultejus, C Renning and S Machura in Lieber and Sens, above n 34 at 63 and 67.
53 Sigismund, E, ‘Zur Funktion der ehrenamtlichen Richter im Strafverfahren in Deutschland’ (Ministry of Justice, Bonn 28 April 1999) 8 Google Scholar.
54 See Tilton, T, The Political Theory of Swedish Social Democracy (Oxford 1990)Google Scholar.
55 Morgan, R and Russell, N, The judiciary and the magistrates’ courts (Home Office 2000) RDS 66, 6–7 Google Scholar.