Why do lay judges sit in criminal cases?

A common legal principle in Norway is judgement by our peers. Lay people play an important role in our justice system. They are used as a guarantee for justice, ensuring that the public have influence and can express their opinion of justice by judging criminal cases.

Lay judges are used in the District Courts and Courts of Appeal for criminal cases. Lay judges have equal status to the presiding judge and have to decide whether the accused is guilty and the appropriate sentence.

When are lay judges used?

Lay judges take part in criminal cases in District Courts. In the Courts of Appeal they take part in cases which the question of guilt has to be decided. Lay judges can also be used in certain civil cases if the parties involved requests this. Lay judges are not used in the Supreme Court.

Expert lay judges are also used in some cases to give the court special insight into areas such as psychology, finances and the construction industry. A lay judge is obliged to attend an average of two court cases per year, but this can vary. How long a case will last can vary from less than one day to several weeks. Over a hundred years have passed since Stortinget, the Norwegian parliament, resolved that impartial private citizens should apply their common sense and judgement to determine guilt or innocence as a counterweight and corrective force to the authorities and powers that be.

How are lay judges selected?

Every District Court has two panels of lay people from which jurors are drawn, one for men and one for women. The Courts of Appeal also have a panel for each sex. Lay judges are drawn from these two panels.

Lay judges are chosen by the local authority or town council for a period of four years.

Nettsted for deg som skal i en rettssak eller har et ærend i en jordskifterett, tingrett eller lagmannsrett.

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