When a person over the age of sixteen has committed a crime, he is tried before the Assize Court. Saint-Martin is attached to that of Guadeloupe. The Assize Court is made up of three professional judges and six jurors. The latter are ordinary citizens chosen by lot from the electoral lists. In Guadeloupe, there are 335 names that can be selected in this way. For the year 2022, a prefectural decree fixes the number of jurors at 27 for Saint-Martin and 8 for Saint-Barth.
Citizens have an obligation to accept this role and receive attendance, transport and accommodation allowances. Despite this, no Saint-Martinois made up the court for financial reasons. Indeed, the costs must be advanced, but they amount to a minimum of 300 euros.
With the health crisis, travel was made difficult and the Assize Court of Guadeloupe did not count any jurors representing the territory in 2020. This is damaging because, for reasons of cost and organization, the citizen saint-martinois cannot fulfill his civic duty under the same conditions as any other average citizen. In addition, the presence of Saint-Martinois during trials involving individuals from the territory, could enlighten the rest of the court. The accused can refuse up to four people on the list of people considered to be jurors. (soualigapost.com)
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