Does Germany use jury trials?
Not used
Jury trials were abolished in 1924; serious cases are heard by mixed panels of professional and lay judges.
Germany is one of 4 countries classified “Not used” for jury trials — 14% of the 29 with data.
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Jury trial
- Last checked
- 7 July 2026
- How it was classified
- Checked by hand against the source.
Nearby countries
- Austria
- Limited use / mixed courts Austria uses jury trials in serious criminal cases, similar to other European civil law jurisdictions.
- Belgium
- Limited use / mixed courts Belgium uses jury trials through the Court of Assize for serious criminal cases and political crimes.
- Switzerland
- Limited use / mixed courts Only Geneva Canton has genuine jury trials, others use mixed judge-jury courts, but unified code may eliminate them.
- France
- Limited use / mixed courts Jury trials in France are limited to felonies, with the cour d'assises having 6-9 jurors deciding conviction.
- Hungary
- Limited use / mixed courts Hungary uses a mixed court system with lay judges for specific cases rather than traditional jury trials.
- Italy
- Limited use / mixed courts Italy uses a court system with laypersons for serious crimes like murder, not general jury trials.
Other laws in Germany
- Death Penalty
- Fully abolished
- School Corporal Punishment
- Banned
- Military Conscription
- No conscription
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.