Area: Pravosodje
Competent authority: MP
EZU URL: .nan
Initiative ID: 570
Initiative accepted and completed: '2015-05-29'
Initiative classified in EZU: .nan
Initiative forwarded in response: '2015-05-20'
Initiative published: '2015-05-20'
Initiative submitted: '2015-05-15'
Response from the competent authority: Response of the Ministry of Justice:The inclusion
  of jurors in the panels of judges constitutes one of the forms of direct participation
  of citizens in the exercise of judicial power, which is a constitutional category
  under Article 128 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia.  Trial by jury
  is an expression of the principle of the collegiality of the judiciary, which is
  one of the fundamental principles of the judiciary. In labour and social disputes,
  the rule of a panel trial applies (Article 14 of the Labour and Social Courts Act),
  and the single judge decides only in cases specified in a list of cases. Two jurors,
  who, in addition to the president (judge), are members of the chamber, represent
  the list of workers' or insured persons' candidates and the list of employers' or
  institutions' candidates. The specificity of the jurors participating in labour
  and social disputes is that they "belong" to the parties to those disputes. The
  enactment of the Labour and Social Disputes Act has introduced a requirement for
  lay judges to participate, based on the idea that it is important to involve those
  who have life experience of the issues before the court, in order to ensure that
  the court's decisions in these disputes are acceptable and understandable. In addition,
  the composition of the panels ensures that the principle of the participation of
  representatives of workers and employers, or of insured persons and institutions,
  in the decision-making process is implemented. Comparative procedural law is also
  characterised by the participation of jurors from the social partners. Thus, in
  Germany, jurors are involved at all three levels. In Austria, the court of first
  instance is composed of a panel of three judges, two of whom are 'lay judges with
  professional knowledge' (Fachkundige Leienrichter). At second and third instance,
  the panels are composed of three professional judges and two lay judges. An additional
  rule is that these representatives should come from the same professional circles
  as the parties. In Belgium, the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden, jurors are also
  involved in first- and second-instance labour disputes.     As explained above with
  regard to the fundamental task or objective pursued by the inclusion of jurors in
  panels in certain judicial proceedings, we do not consider that the claim that there
  is "no added value" can be sustained.
Text file: 570.txt
Title: Reform of the jury system
URL: https://www.stopbirokraciji.gov.si/pobuda/?st=570
