A Tale of Two Juries: Lay Participation Comes to Japanese and Chinese Courts

Abstract

ARTICLES A TALE OF TWO JURIES: LAY PARTICIPATION COMES TO JAPANESE AND CHINESE COURTSt Stephan Landsman* Jing Zhang** I. INTRODUCTION In 2009, Japan will take a long contemplated step by author- izing the use of mixed tribunals of professional and lay adjudica- tors in serious criminal cases - the so-called saiban-in system. I In a far less widely-noted step, China has, over the past two years, dramatically increased the use of a similar lay assessor system, not only in serious criminal cases, but in major civil and adminis- trative proceedings as well. China's shift has been so rapid that there is exceedingly little discussion of the matter to be found in English-language materials, and there is not even a definitive translation of China's mixed tribunal Directive. It is remarkable that Japan and China have, at almost pre- cisely the same moment, turned to the mixed tribunal jury mech- t A prior version of this article was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association in Berlin, Germany, in July, 2007. It has benefited from the comments of Cherif Bassiouni, Shari Diamond and Richard Lempert. Of course, we are responsible for all errors. * Robert A. Clifford Professor of Tort Law and Social Policy, DePaul Univer- sity College of Law. ** Third Year Law Student, DePaul University College of Law. 1. For a description and translation of the saiban-in law. See Kent Anderson & Emma Saint, Japan's Quasi-jury (SAIBAN-IN) Law: An Annotated Translation of the ACT CONCERNING PARTICIPATION OF LAY ASSESSORS IN CRIMINAL TRIALS, 6 Asian-Pacific Law & Policy J. 233 (2005). 2. We provide a translation of the Quanguo renmin daibiao dahui changwuweiyuanhui guanyu wanshan renmin peishenyuan zhidu de jueding [DI- RECTIVE OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS CONCERNING IMPROVEMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S ASSESSOR SYSTEM], 2005, at Appendix I. issued May 1,