Trial by Jury and trial with the aid of assessors in the superior courts of British African territories: III

The use of assessors in Courts of Admiralty in England is of long standing. The first reported case in which they are mentioned is probably The Ann of Mostein, but there is an even earlier reference to the practice of seeking advice from the Trinity House Masters dating from the beginning of the seventeenth century. The true status and function of assessors in England is not in doubt, but the same cannot be said of assessors in criminal trials in Africa, and the aim of this chapter is to clarify the position as far as possible. It is intended first to describe the law governing trial with assessors in the superior courts, then to discuss some of the problems that have arisen, and finally to attempt to define the true role of the assessor.