Elections of aldermen

Aldermen are persons who have been elected honorary judges. They are used in criminal proceedings before the district and regional courts.

For the election of the alderman, a list of candidates is drawn up by the political municipality, in which all groups of the population are to be given appropriate consideration according to gender, age, occupation and social status. This list of proposals is discussed and adopted by the city or municipal council. Interested citizens can also register themselves with their city or municipality in order to be included in the list of candidates. The actual election of the alderman is then carried out by the alderman election committee for a period of five years. He may be re-elected for another term of office.

In the district courts, the lay judges participate in the so-called lay judges' courts. These are responsible for the area of medium crime with a penalty expectation of up to four years and are staffed by a professional judge and two lay judges. Cases of serious crime are heard by the large criminal divisions of the regional courts. These are composed of two or three professional judges and two lay judges.

In the exercise of their duties, lay judges are independent and subject only to the law. Like professional judges, they are obliged to be objective and impartial. As representatives of the people, they should contribute to maintaining the population's trust in the judiciary by exercising their honorary office. It is also of great importance that lay judges contribute their life experience and expertise to the course of a trial.

Aldermen exercise the honorary office of judge in the same way as professional judges. They decide together on both the question of guilt and the sentence. In deliberation and voting, lay judges have the same voting rights as professional judges and should decide impartially according to their impression, which they gain during the main hearing. For this reason, unlike professional judges, they have no knowledge of the content of the files of the respective proceedings.

As a rule, lay judges are to be called upon to meet twelve times a year. In accordance with the Judicial Remuneration and Compensation Act (JVEG), loss of earnings and travel expenses are reimbursed. In addition, they receive attendance fees for their voluntary work.

• Federal Association of Honorary Judges