Serving as a juror

Juries are made up of members of the public who are known as jurors. They are selected at random from the Electoral Register and for any citizen who is chosen to serve, it is one of the most important responsibilities that they may be called to undertake.

Jury system

The jury system goes back many hundreds of years and is a long-established part of our legal system. Citizens from a cross-section of society are selected to hear evidence about a fellow citizen who has been charged with an offence. Based on the evidence presented to them, the jury is asked to decide if the defendant - the person charged with the offence - is guilty or not guilty.

For every juror this is an important responsibility and while you do not need any special skills or experience, you must be fair, impartial, willing to listen and keep an open mind.

Jury notice

Anyone on the Electoral Register aged between 18 and 70 years-old can serve on a jury. If you are selected by computer to serve, you will receive a letter called a ‘Jury Notice’. This explains that your name is on the list of potential jurors for that year and accompanying this will be a form of return. If this is not completed and returned a reminder will be sent to you.

There are, however, several grounds for excusing yourself from having to serve on a jury and details of these categories are listed on your Jury Notice or can be found on the Court Service website.

Jury summons

If you receive a 'Jury Summons' you will be told where you will do your jury service and the date and time your service begins. You will usually have between three to five weeks between the Summons letter arriving and your first day in court. The letter also provides details for the Customer Service Centre that will help you with any queries that you might have about your jury service.

There may, however, be certain times when it isn’t possible for a you to serve at the time you have been summonsed. If you think there is a reason that prevents you from serving at that time, you will need to contact the Customer Service Centre and ask to be 'deferred’ so that you can serve at a later date, or ‘excused’ from jury service altogether. The reasons you might be deferred or excused and how to apply for deferral or excusal, as they are known, are provided in part two of your Jury Summons.

Additional information will also accompany your Jury Summons including details of financial allowances and general information on the courthouse you will be attending.

Supporting jurors

Your Jury Summons will tell you that you are legally required to serve. This can make some people anxious, but please don't be worried by this as experience shows that once people get over their initial concerns they usually find jury service interesting and rewarding.

Contact the Customer Service Centre

Further information on all aspects of jury service can be found by contacting the Customer Service Centre either by email or by telephone between 9.30 am and 4.30 pm Monday to Friday.

• Northern Ireland Courts Service