Imagine if this week Americans were relieved of jury duty and henceforth criminal trial verdicts would be decided only by professional judges. The obverse is true in Japan. The country this week reintroduced a jury system after a lapse of 65 years. Since 1944 all criminal cases have been decided by professional judges. Now cases will be decided by mixed panels of three professional judges and six randomly selected citizens.
Is this rather remarkable story being covered in other parts of the world? If the Japanese authoritiese deem the new saiban-in system successful, I think it could become a model for other parts of Asia and could enhance human rights.
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