A jury court consists of three professional judges and the jury (eight jurors). A court of lay assessors usually consists of one professional judge and three lay assessors (“small court of lay assessors”). However, in the case of certain criminal offenses (e.g. aggravated robbery, manslaughter, arson), the court of lay assessors is composed of two professional judges and two lay assessors (“large court of lay assessors”).
A deviating composition of the “small court of lay assessors ” and the jury court is inadmissible and constitutes a ground for nullity. A defective composition of the “large court of lay assessors ” can only be asserted as a ground for nullity if this large composition was requested by the defendant or the public prosecutor before the trial. The court must then decide in this composition.
In the case of sexual offenses, it is also stipulated that at least two jurors in the jury court and at least one judge or lay assessor in the court of lay assessors must be of the same gender as the defendant and the victim.
