This year the time has come again: the election of the lay judges for the 2024 to 2028 term of office will take place. Aldermen are the honorary judges who can be found on the right and left of the professional judge on the judge’s bench and who clarify the question of guilt and the sentence to be imposed together with him in the main hearing. But what exactly is the office of lay judge for? “There are certain criminal offenses that must be indicted before the jury,” said Judge Frank Gellhaus, deputy director at the Ebersberg District Court. These are, for example, offenses for which a prison sentence of at least one year is provided. For crimes with an expected sentence of more than two years, it is not the single judge who is responsible, but the lay judge.
Aldermen in the form of juries already existed in pre-constitutional times, i.e. long before the Basic Law came into force. “The office of lay judge is therefore not something that has existed since the 1968s,” says Gellhaus. In fact, the office of lay judge already existed in the Middle Ages. As early as the eighth century, the judiciary was a matter for the village, and all adult men took part in the assemblies. Emperor Charlemagne finally determined that from now on it would no longer be the entire court community, but only seven so-called lay judges who would adjudicate. Since then there has been a jury office in Germany and Austria.
Today, crimes can be prosecuted before two different jury courts. On the one hand, there is the adult court of lay judges, before which perpetrators are charged who have exceeded the minimum age of 21 years. For young people and adolescents from the age of 14 to under the age of 21 there is the youth lay judges’ court, in which, in contrast to the adult lay judges’ court, the lay judges’ office must be divided between the sexes, i.e. both a man and a woman must hold the office.
Anyone who wants to become a lay judge must expressly have no legal training
Basically, there are not very many requirements for the clothing of the jury office. “Of course, admission depends on age,” explains judge Frank Gellhaus. From the age of 25 you can be elected as a lay judge at the suggestion of the municipality, the maximum age is 69 years at the beginning of the term of office. In addition, you are not allowed to have any legal training, after all, the lay judges should be lay judges who come from the people in the truest sense of the word.
Even those who have already been sentenced to imprisonment for more than six months or who have been disqualified from holding public office cannot become lay judges. But other criteria are also asked for on the application form for the jury office; For example, you should be able to speak German, live in the municipality where you are applying, not have opened insolvency proceedings and be able to declare that you are a member of the constitution and not a member or supporter of extremist organizations.
The office of lay judge is also not limited to academics and educated people, but is open to all German citizens. “It also means: administer justice in the name of the people,” says Gellhaus. Since it is an honorary post, each alderman pursues his own profession on the side. “Jury judges belong to a wide variety of professional groups, and we have the entire range represented,” explains Gellhaus.
As a judge, you should show interest in two sides of the same coin, according to judge Frank Gellhaus
Irrespective of the criteria on the application form, judge Frank Gellhaus also mentions a number of other skills that lay judges should bring to the office. It is not only important to have confidence in the basic legal system, but also to be impartial and open to the various concerns of the accused and the prosecuting authorities. One should be aware that as a judge one must have the interests of the accused as well as the interests of the law enforcement agency in mind. “You can’t say right from the start that he should be locked up because … but you have to critically question why,” explains Frank Gellhaus. After all, life is never a bad thing to reflect on.
There is no such thing as a crash course in which the legal system is taught. Although they are familiarized with the procedure by the professional judge before the main hearing, the first session of a lay judge can be compared to jumping into ice-cold water. “But you should also be open to that, after all, you don’t have to have understood the legal system in all its ramifications in order to be able to judge fairly,” explains Gellhaus.
The lay judges have the same status as the professional judge in the main hearing
Judge Frank Gellhaus explains the usual course of a main hearing of a lay judge. The lay judges enter the courtroom together with the professional judge, whereupon the professional judge first questions the accused. According to him, the lay judges have the right to ask questions, followed by the public prosecutors and finally the defense counsel. After the main hearing, the lay judges consult with the professional judge to determine whether the crime has been proven and, if so, what punishment should be imposed.
The equal voting rights of lay judges can also lead to lay judges overruling professional judges, since they are completely equal to him – the trained judge. “There is no subordinate relationship,” confirms Gellhaus. Does that bother him as a professional judge? “On the contrary – these are always very profitable judgment consultations,” says Gellhaus. He often comes out of the meeting with his head overflowing with first impressions, so that he first has to sort and orient himself. “In the beginning I like to let the jury do the talking so that I can calm down and get new input.”
At the Ebersberg district court there is a group of adult judges and a group of youth judges, each consisting of ten to twelve judges. The number of lay judges depends on the population of the district. Depending on the number of inhabitants, the municipalities must therefore provide the court with a certain number of lay judges. If not enough applicants register, residents who have not applied can be elected. “But that hardly ever happens,” notes judge Frank Gellhaus.
On the occasion of the jury elections in 2023, Gellhaus held talks with the current jury members of the Ebersberg district court, from which he took away that all jury members want to be re-elected for the new term of office. “You’re not disillusioned and tired, you’re enjoying your job,” says Gellaus.
If you are interested in the jury office, you should contact the municipality where you live or the responsible youth welfare office. Applications will be accepted by the end of March and the list of proposals for the new judges will be drawn up. More information and the application form are available on the website Bavarian State Ministry of Justice.