Elections of jurors

Lay assessors are persons who have been elected as honorary judges. They are used in criminal proceedings at the local and regional courts.

For the election of lay assessors, a list of candidates is drawn up by the political municipality, in which all groups of the population are to be given appropriate consideration according to gender, age, profession and social status. This list is discussed and decided upon by the city or municipal council. Interested citizens can also register themselves with their city or municipality in order to be included in the proposal list. The actual election as a lay assessor is then carried out by the lay assessor election committee for a period of five years. Re-election for a further term of office is possible.

At the district courts, the lay assessors participate in the so-called lay assessors' courts. These are responsible for medium-level crime with a sentence of up to four years and are staffed by one professional judge and two lay assessors. Cases of more serious crime are heard by the major criminal divisions of the regional courts. These are staffed with two or three professional judges and two lay assessors.

In the performance of their duties, lay assessors are independent and subject only to the law. Like professional judges, they are obliged to be objective and impartial. As representatives of the people, they should help to maintain the public's trust in the judiciary by exercising their honorary office. It is also of great importance that lay judges contribute their life experience and expertise to the course of a trial.

Lay assessors exercise the honorary office of judge in the same way as professional judges. They decide jointly on both the question of guilt and the sentence. In deliberations and voting, lay judges have the same voting rights as professional judges and are to decide impartially according to their impression gained during the main hearing. For this reason, unlike professional judges, they have no knowledge of the contents of the files of the respective proceedings.

As a rule, jurors are to be called to sessions twelve times a year. They are reimbursed for loss of earnings and travel expenses in accordance with the German Judicial Remuneration and Compensation Act (JVEG). In addition, they receive attendance fees for their voluntary work.

• Federal Association of Honorary Judges