Lay judges

John Bell

Chapter 6 in Research Handbook on Judging and the Judiciary, 2025, pp 108-124 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: ’Lay judges’ examines the role of non-lawyers who are involved on a regular basis in adjudication. Depending on the system, they decide on a wide variety of matters. Four research questions are reviewed. First, widely held claims that lay judges contribute to the legitimacy of court decisions lack evidence. Secondly, the suggestion that lay judges contribute to the representation of society as a whole or of relevant constituent elements of society has some foundation. However, the social profile of lay judges has limitations, even if these are fewer than those of professional judges. Thirdly, there is very limited evidence that lay judges reason differently from professional judges, though they do contribute to the understanding of different aspects of life. Finally, there is confusion in the objectives of the initial and continuing formation of lay judges – are they meant to internalise a legal way of thinking or to hone their distinctive approaches to the law?

Keywords: Lay judges; Legitimacy; Representativeness; Reasoning; Training; Accountability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781788978736
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