The term jury comes from the Anglo-French "Juree" which in turn comes from the medieval iurata which means oath or investigation. A jury is a group of individuals who try a person as a defendant and pass a sentence.
In more concrete terms, the jury is a classic procedural figure from the English system, through which citizens participate in the administration of justice. It is important to note that although the jury decides with its verdict, in the modern system, it is the law that establishes the penalties and the judge is the one who makes the observations of the channels of the process and who determines whether or not the claim is admitted. Similarly, the prosecution is the one who determines its content.
In ancient times, Anglo-Saxon juries used the common law (common law), since the jury was a defense against the abuses of the State, represented in the king and his councils, the jury decided the whole process, the facts, the law, what evidence would be considered valid, among others. There are several different jury systems and these are: the Anglo-Saxon, the escabinado and the mixed.
The Anglo-Saxon model is being implemented in countries such as England, Scotland, Wales, the United States, Canada, Norway, Australia or Spain. While the escabinado jury is given in France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland or Portugal. The mixed system is implemented in Belgium and Austria.
Anglo-Saxon system: this system is also known as traditional or de facto and consists of a group of citizens, now led by a magistrate, knowing the facts and giving their opinion on all of them.
Escabino system: citizens and technical magistrates attend here, all of whom constitute a college that knows and judges the entire procedure. It is important to emphasize that in this system the fact prosecuted and the law are not dissociated. All decisions are taken by majority.
Mixed System: it is characterized by the fact that the procedure follows the structure of the pure jury throughout the trial until the ruling of the sentence, at which time the structure of the bench is taken. They are the sole judges who determine the guilt or innocence of the person.
