Lay judges

Role of lay judges in criminal proceedings

In the district court, the lay judges are involved in criminal and civil matters. The composition with lay judges usually consists of one legally trained judge and two lay members.

Once the case has been thoroughly dealt with in the district court, the parties and the public must leave the district court. The closing session begins. In the composition with lay judges, the presiding judge first explains to the lay judges the key features of the case and at the same time explains what the law says about the case. Then he or she makes his/her own point of view.

If any of the members of the court disagree with the chairman, a vote shall be required. Each lay judge shall have an independent decision-making power. After the chair, each member shall express his or her opinion in the order of office, from the youngest to the oldest. If the votes go evenly, the criminal case wins a lighter line for the defendant.

The manner in which the district court has arrived at its decision is evident from the reasons for the judgment. In the event of a vote, the opinion of the loser shall be recorded as an annex to the judgment.

Who's suitable as a lay judge?

• The lay judge must be a Finnish citizen and reside in a municipality belonging to the district court's judicial district.
• A lay judge shall not be in bankruptcy or a person whose functional capacity is restricted.
• In addition, he or she must be suitable for the duties of a lay judge.
• A person under 25 years of age cannot be selected as a lay judge. A person aged 65 or over cannot be selected for this task either.
• The lay judge must be an impartial layman. Therefore, a person who has a position in a general court or in the Criminal Sanctions Agency or who acts as an official prosecutor or attorney cannot be appointed as a lay judge. In addition, a person carrying out enforcement duties or a person carrying out criminal investigations or working as a police officer or at Customs may not act as a lay judge.

Appointment of a lay judge

The number of lay judges of the district court shall be confirmed by the National Courts Administration. If the district court's judicial district includes several municipalities, the National Courts Administration shall confirm the number of board members selected from each municipality's territory primarily in proportion to the number of municipalities' life-registered residents. However, at least one board member shall be selected from each municipality.

Before establishing or changing the number of lay judges, the district court and the municipal council of the judicial district of the court shall be given an opportunity to give an opinion on the matter.

The lay judge shall be elected by the municipal council for a period corresponding to its term of office. If several lay judges are elected from the municipality, they shall represent as equally as possible the age, gender, language and profession distribution of the municipality's population.

Although municipal elected representatives are usually selected on political grounds, a lay judge at the district court cannot appear under the party logo. Furthermore, the duties of the lay judges cannot be considered a municipal function of trust even if the municipal council selects the lay judges. Rather, it is a question of a state duty of trust. A member of the court shall be absolutely impartial. He or she renders justice and interprets the law.

If a lay judge becomes unsuitable for his or her duties, the district court shall release him or her from it. A person may become unsuitable for the work of a lay judge, for example when he or she commits an offence.

If a lay judge is permanently unable to performing his or her duties, the municipal council must, as a matter of urgency, select a new person to replace him or her.

Duties of a lay judge

Judicial oath

Before taking up the post, a member of the district court shall give a judicial oath. The lay judge gives the oath at the district court session.

Notification of disqualification

A member of a court is disqualified, when a party or another person has a justified reason to doubt the impartiality of the member in the matter in question. In such cases, a member of the district court must, on his or her own initiative, withdraw from the proceedings of the case, i.e. recuse himself or herself. If the question of disqualification is unclear, it must be discussed with other members before the matter is dealt with.

In most cases, a disqualification arises because a member of the court is too close to the party to the case, to another person involved in the trial (e.g. a witness, expert) or to the case itself. A close relationship may be based on family membership or family or other special relationship between a judge and a party. The disqualification may also result from an employment relationship or a significant business relationship with the party or from an active activity in the community concerned.

Membership in the administration of a limited liability or some other association makes a member of the court disqualified. Participation in the activities of municipal administrative bodies may cause disqualification in criminal cases in which the municipality is a party. Participation in the proceedings of the same case before another authority or court is a reason to withdraw from the proceedings of the district court. When you are a party to a trial, you may be prevented, as a member of the court, from dealing with a similar matter of another person.

Notification of engagements

Before taking up the position, the board member shall notify the district court of his or her engagements. Information on the ties will be entered in the Judge’s register of engagements and secondary occupations (in Finnish) , which has been introduced since the beginning of 2017. The register is maintained by the Legal Register Centre. The register is public.

Secrecy obligation

The members of the court are obliged to keep secret the negotiations that the court has held before its decision.

Attendance obligation

In a district court hearing, cases must be handled in a centralised and continuous manner. The same judges will handle the case from the beginning to the end. The district court must therefore be able to rely on the judges, in turn, to arrive at the court and stay there as long as the hearing lasts.

If a lay judge is ill or otherwise prevented from performing his or her duties, he or she shall immediately inform the district court thereof.

In some exceptional cases, the composition with lay judges of the district court may give its judgment if the presiding judge and one lay judge are present.

Rights of a lay judge

In all cases in which a lay judge participates, he or she is a full member of the district court. He or she has an individual right to vote. He or she has the power of a judge.

For long-term meritorious service, a lay judge may be awarded the title of the Honorary Judge. In practice, a title can only be obtained if a successful career as a lay judge has lasted at least ten years.

The lay judge shall also have the right to receive appropriate remuneration for its work. He or she is paid a proceeding fee from state funds and compensation for loss of income and travel expenses. The grounds and amount of the compensation shall be determined by the Ministry of Justice.

The tasks of a lay judge may be refused on the same grounds as municipal positions of trust:

• A person who has reached the age of 60 may always refuse a position of trust - even during his or her term of office.
• The right to refuse can also be exercised by those who have been in the same position of trust for the last four years or in municipal positions of trust for a total of eight years.
• The municipal council may also grant a lay judge an exemption from his or her duties for another valid reason.

Responsibility of the lay judge

A lay judge is considered to be both a civil servant under criminal law and a civil servant under liability law, as is the case with other elected public officials.

When the district court is considering the decision, the presiding judge will first explain to the lay judges the questions raised in the matter and the provisions applicable to them. When a lay judge’s consideration in a case is based not only on his or her own view of the matter but also on the statement made by the chairperson in the decision-making process, the lay judge's liability shall be assessed separately in each case.