Research
Research Reports
| Title | Research on the Current Status and Revitalization of Citizen Participation Trials | ||
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| Date | 2024.05.27 | ||
| Files |
 Research on the Current Status and Revitalization of Citizen Participation Trials.pdf
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Research on the Current Status and Revitalization of Citizen Participation Trials
- Focusing on Improving Implementation Requirements - In 2007, South Korea introduced the Citizen Participation Trial system, which allows citizens to participate in criminal proceedings as jurors, as a judicial reform to democratize and progress the judiciary. The system seemed well implemented initially but has been gradually losing momentum and experiencing a long period of stagnation since 2018. Furthermore, as trial delays have recently been a social problem, attention to the Citizen Participation Trial system has decreased. There are many reasons for the stagnation of citizen participation trials. However, this research found that the fundamental issue lies in the scarcity of cases for citizen participation trials because of the necessity for defendant consent, the judiciary's extensive authority to exclude cases, the burdensome workload associated with citizen participation in trials, and various practical limitations. Hereafter, this research endeavors to scrutinize the challenges of citizen participation trials in many aspects based on implementation experiences, find insights from a comparative study on leading nations, reconsider the necessity of invigorating citizen participation trials and the direction of the system, and then suggest the way to improve the system mainly focus on refining the implement requirements. This research starts by introducing the citizen participation trial mechanism in South Korea, including the system's attributes, history, and primary elements. The citizen participation trial mechanism was established as a conjunction of jury trial and lay judge system, as an experimental and conciliatory model, but has yet to be codified into a definitive legal framework. Subsequently, this research analyzed the problems and underlying factors of citizen participation trials based on 15 years of statistical data, court practices, and opinions from interviews and surveys. In essence, lack of social awareness and doubt of effectiveness have resulted in participants' low engagement and high disengagement rates. Additionally, the system's demanding workload and human and material resource constraints have culminated in a significant frequency of case exclusions. Moreover, the practice of one-day trials and high acquittal rates have contributed to a high appeal rate. To gain insight, this research then reviewed citizen participation trials in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, and Japan. The review includes details of the system and implementation situation. The systems across these nations could be classified into jury models or lay judge models, and each country has variously adopted systems regarding their legal circumstances, like individual legal frameworks, historical contexts, and cultural backgrounds. Despite this variety, these nations generally bifurcate criminal procedures for minor and severe offenses; severe offenses are addressed through criminal procedures by participating citizens, while minor offenses are rapidly dealt with through summary criminal procedures. Also, it was common that provided the case qualifies to implement a jury or lay judge system, the option for the defendant or discretion of the court is considerably limited. Subsequently, this research examined the imperative of invigorating citizen participation trials and the direction of the system. Considering the accumulated experience of the last 15 years, it is ascertainable that these trials have effectively fulfilled their objectives, encompassing the enhancement of the judiciary's democratic legitimacy and trustworthiness, the realization of substantive, court-led, and transparent legal proceedings, the incorporation of societal norms, and the elevation of publish legal consciousness and education. Consequently, strategies for increasing the number of citizen participation trials are requested. However, any proposed enhancements must adhere to constitutional principles as much as possible. In this view, this research addressed sequentially the institutional, procedural, and operational improvement measures of citizen participation trials. Initially, in the institutional strategies, this research starts with improving the exclusion system, establishing specialized courts, and amplifying incentives, the way the judiciary could attempt to bring minimal changes in the remaining system. This research categorized exclusionary factors by analyzing the court's decision on immediate complaints against the exclusion decision. This led to the suggestion that specific amendments to laws and regulations clearly outline exclusionary factors regarding the previous amendments. Following this, as part of a broader system requiring active revision and support in human and material resources, this research proposed extending the scope and jurisdiction for individual cases, enhancing the defendant consent mechanism, identifying essential eligible cases, and enabling citizen participation trials in specific branch courts, emphasizing the urgent need for a sufficient judicial workforce. Furthermore, as a mid-and long-term plan, this research suggested bifurcating criminal cases into two categories, introducing streamlined procedures for minor offenses. Extending to procedural and operational improvement strategies, this research reviewed measures to address issues as citizen participation trials increase, such as the expanding variety and complexity of cases and the overwhelmed workload of courts. Specifically, this research analyzed the practice and survey outcomes to invigorate daily trial proceedings and simplify sentences in various aspects. This included projecting potential challenges and formulating corresponding mitigation strategies. Furthermore, it introduced a way to foster awareness and education among citizens and legal professionals. This research holds significance as it delves into the underlying factors precipitating the current predicament encountered by citizen participation trials, focusing on the criteria for implementation, and empirically investigates both the imperative for rejuvenation of citizen participation in trials and the tangible strategies for improvement. Ultimately, this research is expected to contribute constructively towards formulating strategies to invigorate citizen participation in the judicial process. 
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