A panel of the Justice Ministry to review the lay judge system issued an interim report March 15 based on its 11 members' discussions which lasted about 10 months. It is disappointing that the panel did not come out with a strong opinion to support the idea of loosening the gag order imposed on lay judges.
The ministry will work out a bill to revise the lay judge law on the basis of the panel's final report expected to be issued in June. The Diet should deepen discussions on the gag order with an eye on making it less restrictive.
The panel review is based on a supplementary provision of the lay judge law, which calls for reviewing the lay judge system three years after its introduction in May 2009. The panel members discussed various issues related to the lay judge system, but they failed to produce a conclusion on each issue. The interim report only lists various views expressed by the panel members and shows how many members support particular views.