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The jury system refers to a judicial system in which a collegial panel is formed by a judge and a people's assessor to try a case. In the trial activities of the people's courts, the participation of people's assessors on behalf of the people in the trial of cases is an important manifestation of judicial democracy. ^[1]

The jury system refers to a judicial system in which a collegial panel is formed by a judge and a people's assessor to try a case. In the trial activities of the people's courts, the participation of people's assessors on behalf of the people in the trial of cases is an important manifestation of judicial democracy. ^[1]

A system of generating jurors (members) from citizens to participate in court trials. Originated from slavery

The advent of the jury system enables ordinary citizens to participate in the judicial process, can prevent judges from arbitrarily advocating law, being arbitrary, and correcting their inaccuracies. Simultaneously

Jury system

Athens and Roman times Athens, in Athens, 6,000 jurors are selected from citizens (slave owners, free citizens) who are over 30 years old by lotteries to form jury courts. Each case is heard by 500 jurors. In Rome, the Supreme Magistrate selects 300 to 450 people from the aristocracy, knights, and wealthy slave owners in the Senate. The jury is called the Permanent Criminal Court, and each case is decided by a lot of 30 to 40 jurors. The jury system in Athens and Rome is only applicable to slave owners and free citizens. It is not applicable to slaves, and slaves are not protected by the litigation system. With the decline of Athens's democratic system and Rome's decline from republic to imperialism, the jury system gradually disappeared.

Medieval Europe In the early days of feudal society in continental Europe, jury courts existed instead of Germanic tribes, but they were not promoted. Only Germany had a Schöffengericht composed of judges and jurors for a relatively long period of time. However, in the period of monarchy, interrogation proceedings dominated, and the jury system was abolished. King Henry II (reigned from 1154 to 1189) emulated the provisions of the Germanic law of the Frankish State and absorbed witnesses to try criminal cases instead of the original judicial duels and deities rulings. Since then, witnesses have gradually evolved into jurors who have the power to review evidence and make decisions in court, and further developed into grand jury and petty jury who are responsible for examining prosecutions and hearing cases. This jury system is only applicable to civil disputes and criminal cases within the feudal owner, and serf cases are tried by the lord's own court.

During the bourgeois revolution of the 17th to 18th centuries in the Western modern and modern era , the bourgeoisie and its thinkers opposed feudal tyranny and put forward a progressive claim for jury system. British J. Learburn (1614 ~ 1657) in the "People's Covenant Law" called for "free election of jurors by the people". French Montesquieu also advocated the replacement of professional judges by jurors in the book "On the Spirit of the Law". After the bourgeoisie seized power in some countries, jury systems have been established in law.

Britain inherited the jury system of feudal society. The former participates in the review and prosecution, and the latter participates in the trial of cases. The grand jury was cancelled in 1933. France, Germany, Austria and other countries also have only small juries. It is primarily the United States that retains the grand jury system. The grand jury is tasked with deciding whether to prosecute a felony case. Serious crimes such as treason, murder, and armed robbery accepted by courts in the US federal system must be prosecuted by a grand jury. There are two cases in the courts of the states: one is that the grand jury must agree to the case, and the defendant must not waive this right; the other is that the judge decides whether the grand jury should be examined on the merits. The grand jury is usually composed of 12 to 23 people. Its ruling is by majority vote and does not require unanimous adoption. The jury is similar to the current jury in the UK. A jury in the United Kingdom consists of 12 people, whose powers are to review evidence, hear debates, and make a ruling on the facts of the defendant's guilt. If guilty, a professional judge will be sentenced accordingly. As long as the majority of the jury's votes are passed, the verdict can be made; if the jury's opinions are too divergent, the jury must be dismissed and a jury will be called for further ruling.

After the victory of the French bourgeois revolution, it also imitated the British large and small jury system. The Criminal Procedure Code passed in 1808 abolished the grand jury. The French jury's ruling was passed by a majority vote, and when the votes were equal, the opinion of the defendant was valid. If the judge unanimously finds that the jury's ruling is indeed in error, he may declare a postponed trial and organize a new jury to retry.

During the "Vichy Government" in 1941 and the "Socialist Government" in 1945, France changed the jury court to a mixed court composed of permanent judges and jurors, which were responsible for hearing facts and applicable laws. Germany restored the Schevening Court in 1924. It consisted of 6 jurors and 3 professional judges, and was responsible for trial and judgment; its judgment was passed by a two-thirds majority. By Hitler's rule, the jury system was completely abolished. Japan once practiced a jury system, but it was cancelled in World War II and did not resume after the war.

Jury systems in common law and civil law countries are only applicable to a few cases with serious crimes. The vast majority of first-instance criminal cases are handled by summary judges or police judges separately.

In the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries, in accordance with the provisions of the Soviet Constitution and relevant laws, trials in Soviet courts must be attended by jurors except those specifically provided for by law. Jurors are elected and have the same rights as judges. The decision or ruling of the collegial panel is passed by a majority of votes. Jury systems in Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Democratic Germany, Poland, Hungary and Romania are roughly the same as in the Soviet Union.

Jury system in China

Before the Qing Dynasty, there was no jury system. During the Republic of China, the Kuomintang government promulgated the Interim Jury Law on Political Cases in 1929. The qualification for jurors was a Kuomintang party member over 25 years old, and the law was repealed in 1931.

During the Second Revolutionary Civil War, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese Soviet Central Executive Committee

The Jury System is specified in the Regulations on the Provisional Organization and Judgment of the Referee Department issued by the Commission. During the period of the Anti-Japanese War and the Third Domestic Revolutionary War, corresponding provisions were made in each of the revolutionary base areas. Except for counter-revolutionary cases, all civil and criminal cases were subject to jury system. Jury members are selected by mass organizations such as trade unions, peasant associations, women's associations, and youth associations. In some cases, mass representatives are temporarily invited to join the trial. Jurors and judges have equal rights.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Provisional Organizational Regulations of the People's Court of the People's Court of the People's Republic of China promulgated in 1951 ^[2] , the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Organic Law of the People's Court of the People's Court of the People's Republic of China in 1954 ^[3] The jury system is stipulated. The Organic Law of the People's Court of the People's Court of China and the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China passed in 1979 reaffirmed the relevant provisions of the past constitution and laws: the people's courts tried first-instance cases, except simple civil cases and minor criminal cases In addition, it is conducted by a collegiate panel consisting of judges and jurors. On September 2, 1983, the Second Session of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress decided to amend the relevant provisions of the Organic Law of the People's Court and made more flexible provisions in view of the difficulties encountered in the actual implementation of the above provisions: "The People's Court The trial of first instance cases shall be conducted by a collegial panel of judges or a collegial panel of judges and people's assessors; simple civil cases, minor criminal cases and cases otherwise provided for by law may be tried by the judge alone. " Article 35 of the "Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (Trial)" adopted in 1982 also stipulates that when a people's court tries a civil case of the first instance, a collegial panel is formed by a judge or a juror or a collegial panel is formed by a judge.

Jury system

People's jurors have the same rights as judges during the performance of their duties, have the right to participate in all trials of the case, and make decisions or rulings based on the principle of minority obedience to the majority. In addition to being deprived of political rights, all citizens who have reached the age of 23 can be elected as people's assessors. Most of the jurors are elected by the local people's congresses at all levels, and they regularly take turns to participate in trials in people's courts; some are invited by local people's courts to local authorities, enterprises, schools, and groups to be temporarily elected by the units.