ABSTRACT
In our legal system, there is a tradition of using lay people, that is people who are not legally qualified, in the decision-making process in our courts. There are also lay people with expertise in a particular field who sit as part of a panel as lay assessors. This occurs in the Patents Court and the Admiralty Court in the High Court as well as in tribunals. However, the greatest use of lay people in the legal system is lay magistrates. There are around 17,500 lay magistrates sitting as part-time judges in the Magistrates' Courts. There are also qualified judges who work in Magistrates' Courts. These are called District Judges (Magistrates' Court). Lay magistrates must be aged between 18 and 65 on appointment. However, there are some people who are not eligible to be appointed. The important factor is that candidates should be of good standing in the local community. Aspiring lay magistrates should have certain 'judicial' qualities.
