Panel of judges preferable to current jury system, says former Mauritian CJ |11 April 2015

The jury system is archaic, former Mauritian chief justice Yeung Kam John Yeung Sik Yuen has said.

Mr Yeung Sik Yuen, who has for the last seven years been the commissioner of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, said this yesterday afternoon during a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Transport at the end of his team’s April 6-10 visit here on the invitation of the Seychelles government.

“I know very well the jury system, but nowadays this system has become archaic,” said Mr Yeung Sik Yuen.

“We are siding too much with the British who prefer trial by peers. The jurors don’t have any legal training and if the defendant has a very good lawyer he/she can easily manipulate the jurors. So it's time to dump our archaic jury system and hand the job over to qualified professionals. My preferred solution is to have a panel of at least three judges. You need to have an odd number to arrive at a final verdict,” added Mr Yeung Sik Yuen.

Mr Yeung Sik Yuen’s opinion adds to the ongoing debate about whether we should stick with the jury system or give judges the right to make the final judgment in mostly murder cases.