The Rule of Law is central to the functioning of any legitimate system of government. It is not static, but is ever evolving. As part of that process of legal evolution, many Asian countries are now engaged in legal reform, including jury reform. Korea and Japan are beginning to implement new components in their criminal justice systems that will ensure citizen participation in serious criminal cases. China also has implemented some limited lay participation in its criminal justice system, and still other countries in the region are also considering implementing various forms of lay participation in their criminal justice systems.
The Mansfield Center’s Legal Reform Initiative will facilitate cross-cultural learning about lay participation in the criminal justice systems of Asia, and will examine the role of the jury as a democratizing influence.
We will encourage dialogue on these issues by:
- acting as a clearinghouse of information for legal professionals involved in jury reform throughout Asia and the United States
- conducting multi-national classrooms sessions through technology
- encouraging the exchange of academics, legal professionals, and lay people involved in criminal justice
- sponsoring conferences on related criminal justice issues
- developing relevant scholarship
- maintaining a LISTSERV for attorneys and academics interested in this area of law (See directions below)
We look forward to meeting new friends and colleagues, and are thankful for the opportunity to be of service.
Listserv Instructions
Subscribing
To join the listserv send an email to jim.taylor@umontana.edu and request to join the Mansfield Juries and Democracy listserv.
Posting a message to the listserv
Once you have subscribed, email any message you want to post to: MANS_JURIES_AND_DEMOCRACY-L@LISTS.UMT.EDU
Unsubscribing
To be removed from the listserv, send an email to jim.taylor@umontana.edu and request to be removed from the Mansfield Legal Reform Initiative listserv
Posting Policy
This listserv is an unmoderated discussion forum. Messages posted go to the subscribers without being edited by a moderator. In order to maximize the usefulness of the listserv, the following guidelines for messages are suggested.
- Emails should relate to the topic of the listserv- lay participation in the criminal justice systems of Asia. Topics can range from the academic to the practical. Both academics with criminal law experience, and practicing attorneys, will be contributing to the listserv.
- Please be polite.
- Please do not send private messages intended for one person to the entire listserv. This happens most frequently when someone sees a message from another subscriber, but sends a reply to the listserv rather than to that individual.
- All posting should be in English, although postings that also include Asian languages are certainly appropriate.
- No attachments to messages are allowed (in order to reduce the risk of transmitting an email based virus).
It is acceptable to send a message announcing your own book or article if it will be of interest to subscribers. Other messages of a commercial nature, such as announcements of employment opportunities in a related field, may be useful to subscribers and are also acceptable until such time as they proliferate to the point of alienating subscribers. Such postings should, however, be brief and informative, and should invite interested subscribers to receive further information through private communication with the sender. Messages posting resumes or otherwise seeking employment are not acceptable.
