ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the issues that are pertinent to lay participation debate about the jury court. Interviews were conducted with four professional judges who chair jury courts, one defence lawyer and one prosecutor. It describes the role the jury court plays in Belgium and the on-going debates surrounding it. After that attention is given to the empirical evidence regarding its functioning. Finally, the results of the interviews and questionnaires are presented. The chapter discusses observations of a jury trial that took place in one of the largest jury courts in Belgium. The professional judge would participate in making the decision about guilt and the jury would have to give reasons for its decision. The jury trial can be better characterized as one of the opportunities, among others, the Belgian Prosecution Service has to proceed with a case. The Prosecution Service uses its power to send cases to a jury court on a steadily decreasing number of occasions.
