ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ways citizens take part in the adjudication of criminal cases in the following countries: Denmark, Germany, England and Wales, Belgium and the Netherlands. It explains how the selection of the lay participants is conducted, what their tasks are and what their involvement encompasses in practice during the process. Only criminal law is considered in the chapter, with the exception of the Netherlands, where other legal procedures allowing for direct input by citizens are discussed as well. It also presents a brief sketch of lay involvement in a number of other European countries, including some from the former Communist bloc. Belgium introduced its jury system under French influence and the ideas of the Enlightenment. Denmark has both juries and lay judges. Germany had juries from 1849 until 1924. The jury has a long history in England and Wales. Juries only operated in the Netherlands during the French occupation.
