Election of lay judges

Lay assessors are honorary judges in the criminal justice system. They are elected for five years at a time.

The lists of candidates for the election of lay judges and juvenile lay judges are drawn up by the City of Jena - as far as possible - on the basis of voluntary nominations from the public and decided by the City Council or the Youth Welfare Committee. Inclusion in the lists of nominations does not mean that the applicants will actually be appointed to the office of lay assessor. This is decided by the lay assessor selection committee at the local court.

During the main hearing, lay assessors are judges in the same way as professional judges. During the main hearing, they judge the innocence or guilt of the accused jointly and on an equal footing with the professional judges. By contributing non-legal evaluations and considerations as well as their own life and professional experience, they contribute to a fair and just judgment that is close to the people. Through them, the principle of popular participation in the administration of justice is realized.

Requirements

The requirements for the office of lay judge are

• Possession of German citizenship (Section 31 GVG in conjunction with Article 116 GG)
• at least 25 years of age and not older than 69 at the beginning of the term of office (Section 33 No. 1 and 2 GVG),
• resident in Jena at the time of inclusion in the list of nominees (Section 33 No. 3 GVG)

Furthermore, only those who are educationally qualified and experienced in the education of young people should be appointed to the office of lay assessor for juveniles (Section 35 (2) sentence 2 JGG).

In addition to the formal requirements, applicants should also have the health and linguistic aptitude for this responsible office (section 33 nos. 4 and 5 GVG).

Exclusion criteria

The following are excluded from the office of an honorary judge

• Persons who, as a result of a judicial decision, do not have the capacity to hold public office or who have been sentenced to more than six months' imprisonment for an intentional offense (Section 32 No. 1 GVG),
• persons against whom charges have been brought for an offense that may result in the loss of the ability to hold public office (Section 32 No. 2 GVG).

These grounds for disqualification are supplemented by Section 44a of the German Judges Act. According to this, no person shall be appointed to the office of an honorary judge who

• has violated the principles of humanity or the rule of law
• is not suitable for the office of an honorary judge due to an activity as a full-time or unofficial employee of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic or as a person equivalent to such employees.

The City of Jena will draw up a list of candidates in the run-up to the upcoming election, probably in spring 2028.

A call for interested parties to apply for the honorary office will then appear on the Internet here with further information.
In accordance with the legal regulations then in force, a form for inclusion in the list of candidates will be posted for applicants.

Unfortunately, applications are not possible at this time.

You can obtain information on drawing up the list of proposed candidates from the Legal Department using the contact details provided.

• Basic Law (GG), Courts Constitution Act (GVG)
• Juvenile Courts Act (JGG)
• German Judges Act (DRiG)
• Administrative regulation of the Thuringian Ministry for Migration, Justice and Consumer Protection dated 10.10.2022 on the "Preparation and implementation of the election of lay judges and youth lay judges, drawing and convening of lay judges and youth lay judges"