Should the Jury System Be Introduced Again?
- Yash Tiwari, DNLU, Jabalpur
- September 22, 2020
Content :
After the Norman Conquest, the concept of the jury system was probably imported into Britain although its early functions were quite different from those of day . In England early jurors acted as witnesses providing sources of local affairs information. But they gradually became used as adjudicators in civil as well as criminal disputes. Under Henry II, the jury began to assume an important function, moving from reporting on events they knew of, to deliberating on evidence produced by the parties involved in a dispute. Gradually it became accepted that a juror should know the facts of the case as little as possible before the trial, and which is the position today.
The jury is considered a fundamental part of the English legal system, although in these days the jury tries only a minority of the cases. In a sense it plays a vital role in ensuring that the criminal justice system works for the benefit of the public rather than unjust leaders. It promotes not only a healthy criminal justice system but also a healthy society, where political leaders cannot abuse criminal justice system to silence their opponents.
It has attained such an importance that Lord Devlin wrote in 1956:“Trial by jury is more than an instrument of justice and more than a wheel of the constitution; it is the lamp that shows that freedom lives.”
