Lay judge system needs to be improved through review process

要約

As three years have passed since the introduction of the lay judge trial system, the process to review the system has started with a Justice Ministry panel, which includes legal professionals, citizens and mass media people.

Nearly 30,000 Japanese citizens have served as lay judges and more than 95 percent of them said in surveys after individual trials that it was a meaningful experience. The review must be done with a view to making the system more acceptable to people, thus helping it take root firmly in Japanese society.

There are many things that must be taken up in the reviewing process. Serious attention should be paid to alleviating the burden on lay judges. Specifically the gag order on them must be eased, although it should remain in effect to the extent necessary to ensure free discussions among lay and professional judges.

Six lay judges and three professional judges handle criminal trials dealing with certain types of offenses such as murder, arson and abduction for ransom. But the gag order is too severe. Once a citizen has served as a lay judge or a backup lay judge, he or she is banned for life from disclosing such things as opinions expressed by judges and the number of judges who have expressed a particular opinion. Those who violate the gag order face punishment.

To let other people share the experience of serving as lay judges and evaluate whether discussions by judges were reasonable, a citizen who has served as a lay judge should be allowed to disclose to some extent opinions expressed by judges in a manner that will make it impossible to identify the people who expressed those opinions. Such disclosure will be helpful in improving the lay judge system as a whole.

The review panel must take necessary steps to ensure that court proceedings will be clear and understandable to lay judges without compromising the accuracy.

日本語の抄訳はウィークリ10月13日号のP18に掲載されています。