Cabinet CHAVERON

A juror is a French citizen who is called for service on a jury alongside professional judges, for a short period of time. Prior to the Act of 6th August 2011, jurors were only used in the Crown Court (cour d'assises), but since 1st January 2012, they can also now sit in the magistrates' court (tribunal correctionnel).

The Crown Court has the power to try more serious criminal cases such as armed robbery, rape, murder, etc. There are 9 jurors in a Crown Court (or 12 if it is a Court of Appeal) and they judge the case alongside three professional judges. The Crown Court does not sit permanently, but rather holds sessions lasting two weeks on average, that are repeated more or less frequently during the year depending on the number of cases to be tried.

To be eligible for jury duty, you must have French nationality, be a registered voter, be over 23 years old, have the ability to read and write French and have all your civil rights (i.e. you must not be under a supervision order and must not have previously been sentenced to more than six months in prison). Jurors are selected at random from the electoral roll by the Mayor. They are compensated by the State for carrying out these functions if they so request.

The presence of jurors in magistrates' courts (which hear less severe cases than those of the Crown Court) was introduced on an experimental basis on 1st January 2012 for a trial period of two years at the courts of Dijon and Toulouse.

This reform has been widely criticized by legal professionals who believe that its cost will be very high and that the judicial process will be considerably slowed, due to the need for professional judges to instruct the jurors in increasingly complex matters of law.