Democratic Accountability and Lay Participation in Criminal Trials

Abstract

The article examines the relevance of lay participation in criminal trials. The question is how criminal trials in democratic societies ought to be organised and whether juries (in the Anglo-American systems) or lay judges (for instance in Germany) are necessary conditions for legitimate verdicts. A strong claim (arguing that democratic societies must provide for lay participation in criminal trials) is refuted and the author concludes that lay participation has mere symbolic meaning.