A lay judge, sometimes called a lay assessor, is a person assisting a judge in a trial. Lay judges are used in some 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 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.
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Lay judge in the context of Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make findings of fact, and render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Most trial juries are "petit juries", and consist of up to 15 people. A larger jury known as a grand jury has been used to investigate potential crimes and render indictments against suspects, and consists of between 16 and 23 jurors.
The jury system developed in England during the Middle Ages and is a hallmark of the English common law system. Juries are commonly used in countries whose legal systems derive from the British Empire, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Ireland. They are not used in most other countries, whose legal systems are based upon European civil law or Islamic sharia law, although their use has been spreading. Instead, typically guilt is determined by a single person, usually a professional judge. Civil law systems that do not use juries may use lay judges instead.
Lay judge in the context of Oslo District Court
Oslo District Court (Norwegian: Oslo tingrett) is a district court located in Oslo, Norway. This court is based at the Oslo Courthouse in the city of Oslo. The court serves the entire city of Oslo and the court is subordinate to the Borgarting Court of Appeal. As the largest district court in Norway, it handles about 20% of all cases in the country. The court handled 3,000 criminal and 2,200 civil cases, as well as 7,200 summary proceedings in 2007.
It is led by a chief justice (sorenskriver), and has 100 appointed professional and deputy judges. These are divided into eight sections. In addition, the court has 105 administrative employees, of which 30 are in central administration, 59 in judicial-related jobs and 16 in security. These are led by a managing director. The court is a court of first instance. Its judicial duties are mainly to settle criminal cases and to resolve civil litigation as well as bankruptcy. The administration and registration tasks of the court include death registration, issuing certain certificates, performing duties of a notary public, and officiating civil wedding ceremonies. Cases from this court are heard by a combination of professional judges and lay judges.
Lay judge in the context of Labour Court elections
The French Labour Court elections (French: Élections prud'homales françaises) were held every five years to elect the lay judges, known as conseillers prud'homaux, who arbitrate labour disputes within the Conseil de prud'hommes (French Labour Court), a specialized court tasked with resolving conflicts between employees and employers governed by labour law.
The elections were abolished in 2014. The last elections took place in 2008, and the final elected mandate of councilors concluded on 31 December 2017.
Lay judge in the context of People's Court (Bavaria)
The People's Courts of Bavaria (Volksgerichte) were Sondergerichte (special courts) established by Kurt Eisner during the German Revolution in November 1918 and part of the Ordnungszelle that lasted until May 1924 after handing out more than 31,000 sentences. It was composed of two judges and three lay judges. One of its most notable trials was that of the Beer Hall Putsch conspirators, including Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff, Wilhelm Frick, Friedrich Weber, and Ernst Röhm, which lasted from 26 February 1924 until 1 April 1924.
Initially established in each court district by the Order of 16 November 1918 (Verordnung vom 16 November 1918) by the government of Kurt Eisner, it was furthered by the government of Johannes Hoffmann in the Law on the Establishment of People's Courts in Civil Disturbances of 12 July 1919 (Gesetz über die Einsetzung von Volksgerichten bei inneren Unruhen vom 12 Juli 1919). An agreement between the federal government and the government of Bavaria had fixed the deadline for the abolition of the courts on 1 April 1924. In this form they remained until May 1924 after handing out more than 31,000 sentences. Initially intended as a short-term solution for events surrounding the German Revolution, they became seen as part of the Ordnungszelle.