On The Popularizational Feature Of Jury System And Its Inspiration To China

Jury System originated from the ancient Athens and Rome, which has undergone the transition from Witnesses System to the Adjudicating System. This system has prevailed in Common Law states and gradually spread to many countries all over the world, which now varies in different countries. Under this judicial system, state judicial organs selects citizens to participate in trials. Currently, common law countries adopt Jury System, however Reference System of Trial is usually employed in civil law countries. In China, People Assessor System belongs to the latter one, which came into being on the basis of the experiences of former Soviet Union and judicial practices in China. It has revealed multiple values in the past half century such as safeguarding the people's sovereignty, promoting justice and guaranteeing judicial independence. However, Assessor System of the People has some defects which make this system impractical.So there has been a dispute on the necessity of the application and the development patterns of the system, especially after the promulgation and implementation of the "Notice on Improvement to the People Assessor System".This thesis probes the origin and evolution of the Jury System. In Slavery Society, there used to be a jury court adopting the collective judgement, which reflected characteristics of democracy of that times. Later, through King HenryⅡ's innovations, Jury System spread into the judicial field. Gradually, the role of jury transformed from witnesses to the judicators. Through the strive against the power of royal family, the jury developed from a tool of monarchy into a bulwark protecting the people's rights and interests.This thesis expounds the different functions of the Jury System in Common Law countries and Civil Law countries through the comparative studies, also reveals the popularization of the Jury System, as well as the values of this system with ordinary people participating in trials. Popularization is the essence of Jury System, and only the popularization can really safeguard the interests of civilians. In consideration of the current situation in China, the writer put forward some assumptions on the realization of the popularization of People Jury System in order to promote the further improvement of the judicial system.