Adopting a lay participation system in Taiwan: The trial observer reform attempt

Allowing lay people to participate in the judicial process is perhaps the most vivid example of the fusion between democracy and judicial reform in Taiwan. Not long ago, Taiwanese people were oppressed by an authoritarian regime and threatened by court-martial trials, but now earning trust from the people has become a priority for judicial authorities. Under a possible new lay participation system, average citizens would be invited into courts to become adjudicators involved in the criminal judicial process.