News & Announcements
Announcing IRC panels at the International Law and Society meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 5-8, 2012.
The IRC09 Lay Participation in Legal Decision Making is sponsoring a number of panels at the upcoming International Law and Society meeting in Hawaii; they cover a range of topics, including the role of professionals in mixed courts, iconic trials, participation on juries, and updates on new jury and mixed court systems in Japan, Europe, and elsewhere. Please plan to attend!
In addition, the IRC will hold a business meeting on Friday afternoon, 4:30-6:15 pm. The meeting to open to all. We’ll be able to exchange information about new projects on the use of juries and mixed courts.
Registration and other information may be found at: http://www.lawandsociety.org/.
Valerie Hans, Sanja Kutnjak Ivkovic, Nikolai Kovalev, and Taskeshi Nishimura, IRC co-organizers
Click on this link for a listing of 2012 LSA panels and papers on lay participation in law
Previous News/Announcements
3/25/11: Popular Justice: Beyond Judges and Juries
Click here for more info
2/26/09: Takashi Maruta, Professor of Law, Kwansei Gakuin University Law School, Japan, and Visiting Scholar, Center for Japanese Legal Studies, Columbia University, Lay Participation in Legal Decision Making Comes to Japan: http://media.lawschool.cornell.edu/flashcom/misc/2009/hans_movie_feb09.html
Professor Maruta has been a major influence in the development of Japanese legal reforms, including the introduction of Saiban-in Seido, the Japanese reform in which six lay citizens and three professional judges decide serious criminal cases jointly. In his 2009 talk at Cornell, Professor Maruta discussed the law reform process that led to this particular form of citizen participation in legal decision making, and the special challenges that he and others confronted and continue to face in developing a strong and vibrant system of lay participation in Japan.
8/16/09: Foreigners size up lay judge system Citizens' willingness to serve contrasts with other nations that allow public participation: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090816a6.html
Click Here to view the 2006 International Research Collaborative Newsletter (pdf format)
Click Here to view the June 24th 2007 International Research Collaborative Newsletter (pdf format)
Click Here to view the October 1st 2007 International Research Collaborative Newsletter (pdf format)
Click Here to view the 2008 Montreal Law & Society Association Meeting (pdf format)