Allocation of Criminal Adjudicative Power Between Judges and Assessors in China: A Legal Dogmatics Perspective

Abstract

The reform of the assessor system constitutes a crucial component of the overall reform of China’s criminal trial system. The model for allocating adjudicative power between professional judges and assessors in criminal cases directly impacts the effectiveness of this reform. Article 20 of the People’s Assessors Law imposes on the presiding judge the obligation to provide instruction and prompting to assessors. However, this provision still exhibits several shortcomings, which may lead to an imbalance and deviation in the allocation of criminal adjudicative power, as well as confusion in defining the relationship between judges and assessors. A potentially viable path for reform involves adopting a restrictive interpretation of this provision at the judicial level, while redefining the “judge–assessor” relationship; at the legislative level, it would be necessary to clarify the legal effect of the “judicial instruction clause” and establish corresponding remedial procedures.