In some jurisdictions, an assessor is a judge's or

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

's assistant. This is the historical meaning of this word. In

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...

jurisdictions, assessors are usually non-lawyers who sit together with a judge to provide either expert advice (such as on maritime matters) or guidance on local practices. The use of assessors nowadays is quite rare. In some jurisdictions, such as Fiji, assessors are used in place of juries. An assessor's opinion or view of a case is not binding on a judge. The term "assessor" is also very generally applied to persons appointed to ascertain and fix the value of rates and taxes, and in this sense the word is used in the United States (see

Assessor (property) Tax assessment, or assessment, is the job of determining the value, and sometimes determining the use, of property, usually to calculate a property tax. This is usually done by an office called the assessor or tax assessor. Governments need to ...

Civil law jurisdictions

In France and in all European countries where the civil law system prevails, the term ''assesseur'' is applied to those assistant judges who, with a president, compose a judicial court.

Denmark

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, it was the former title given to Supreme Court judges. Today the title is given to Deputy Judges. See

Courts of Denmark The Courts of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Domstole, fo, Danmarks Dómstólar, kl, Danmarkimi Eqqartuussiviit) is the ordinary court system of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Courts of Denmark as an organizational entity was created with the Polic ...

Germany

In Germany, ''Rechtsassessor'' ("assessor of law") is a title held by graduates of law who have passed both the first and the second of the two state exams (finishing law school and a two-year legal clerkship) qualifying for a career in a legal profession such as judge or prosecutor, attorney at law or civil-law notary.

Italy

In Italy, an assessor (in Italian: ''assessore'') is a member of a ''Giunta'', the executive body in all levels of local government:

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

and

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

Norway

In Norway, the title was used for any judge before 1927.

Sweden

In Sweden, a judge who has been a district court clerk for two years, an appeal court clerk for at least one year, a deputy district judge for at least two years and a deputy appeal court judge for one year gets, if he or she is approved, the title ''assessor''. ''Hovrättsassessor'' = assessor of the civil and criminal appeal court. ''Kammarrättsassessor'' = assessor of the administrative appeal court. Having the degree of assessor is the most common way of getting a constitutionally protected position as a judge (''ordinarie domare''), but increasingly advocates, prosecutors and doctors of law are also appointed to these positions.

Soviet Union

In the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, a judge presiding at trial is assisted by two "people's assessors" drawn much like jurors from citizens in the community. They do not rule on matters of law but can allow or deny objections. When the trial is completed the judge and people's assessors decide on a verdict.

China

In People's Republic of China, "people's assessors" can form judicial panel together with professional judges to try cases. People's assessors are selected from the residents within the court's jurisdiction. Besides a single judge, judicial panels can consists of one judge and two assessors or three judges and four assessors to try cases. The people's assessors mostly enjoy the same rights as professional judges, but they should only vote on the findings of the fact, not on the matter of law.

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

In the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

, assessors were also members of the judiciary, sitting on the so-called kanclerz's courts or assessor's courts.

Common law jurisdictions

Fiji

Serious criminal trials are conducted by a judge sitting with four lay assessors.

Hong Kong

S.53 of the High Court Ordinance provides that a judge in the Court of First Instance may sit with one or more assessor who holds special qualifications. It is not normal practice for the court to sit with assessors.

South Africa

In serious criminal cases (such as murder) appearing before the High Court, two assessors may be appointed to assist the judge. Assessors are usually advocates or retired

s. They sit with the judge during the court case and listen to all the evidence presented to the court. At the end of the court case they give the judge their opinion. The judge does not have to listen to the assessors' opinions but it usually helps the judge to make a decision. The assessors may also only make decisions on facts, not on the law, which is solely the authority of the judge.

United Kingdom

Nautical assessors are experts in maritime matters who may assist the court in cases where their special knowledge is relevant. In the law of England and Wales, this usually happens in the Admiralty Court (part of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...

), or on appeal to higher courts including the Supreme Court.See for exampl
2021 UKSC 6, Evergreen Marine (UK) Limited (Appellant) v Nautical Challenge Ltd (Respondent)
/ref> The number of assessors used will depend on the complexity of the matter at hand, and their presence generally substitutes for the use of expert witnesses by the litigants. Nautical assessors are almost always Elder Brethren of

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. In Scotland, nautical assessors are similarly used in cases before the Court of Session. In principle, other courts may appoint expert assessors. This happens most commonly for dealing with disputes over costs, when a judge may choose to sit together with a "costs judge" who will have special expertise. In cases before the Senior Courts, there is a dedicated office, the Senior Courts Cost Office, housing such judges; at the district level, certain District Judges are the designated costs judges for their areas. Specific rules for the appointment of assessors exist for discrimination cases under the

Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act 2010 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed during the Brown ministry with the primary purpose of consolidating, updating and supplementing the numerous prior Acts and Regulations, that formed the basis of anti-d ...

, for landlord and tenant disputes before a county court, and so on. Some courts and tribunals use "legal assessors", when the person leading the court is not themselves trained in the law. This may happen in cases before panels of the General Medical Council, a

Justice of the peace court A justice of the peace court is the least authoritative type of criminal court in Scotland. The court operates under summary procedure and deals primarily with less serious criminal offences. History The commission of the peace was originall ...

in Scotland, and other similar bodies.

References

{{Reflist Legal professions Polish titles