Hungarian Lay Judges: A Socio-Legal Study

In 2016, the Hungarian Ministry of Justice proposed a reform of the lay judge system as part of a broader overhaul of criminal procedure. The reform reflected a trend observed across several post-socialist countries since the 1990s. The Soviet-style lay courts of the one-party era had done little to foster confidence among legal professionals in the value of lay participation. In justifying the reform of the Hungarian mixed tribunal system and the corresponding reduction in lay participation, lawmakers cited past negative experiences, the system's non-constitutional legacy, and international trends. Interestingly, the authors of this volume initiated a comprehensive empirical study in Hungary before the reform proposal was made public. Their research aimed to explore the perspectives of both professional and lay judges on the functioning of the mixed court system--marking the first such study in over fifty years. While the study explored a variety of issues, it focused primarily on two central questions, in line with international comparative research.