Assessor (law)

In common law jurisdictions, assessors are usually non-lawyers who sit together with a judge to provide either expert advice (such as on maritime matters) or guidance on local practices.

[1] In France and in all European countries where the civil law system prevails, the term assesseur is applied to those assistant judges who, with a president, compose a judicial court.

In the former Soviet Union, a judge presiding at trial was assisted by two "people's assessors" drawn much like jurors from citizens in the community.

The people's assessors mostly enjoy the same rights as professional judges, but they should only vote on the findings of the fact, not on the matter of law.

[5] In serious criminal cases (such as murder) appearing before the High Court, two assessors may be appointed to assist the judge.

[6] Nautical assessors are experts in maritime matters who may assist the court in cases where their special knowledge is relevant.

[7] The number of assessors used will depend on the complexity of the matter at hand, and their presence generally substitutes for the use of expert witnesses by the litigants.

Specific rules for the appointment of assessors exist for discrimination cases under the Equality Act 2010, for landlord and tenant disputes before a county court, and so on.

This may happen in cases before panels of the General Medical Council, a Justice of the peace court in Scotland, and other similar bodies.