The object of this paper is to show how far the Common Law has in the course of its adoption in Africa lost this distinctive feature, to indicate some of the reasons for this loss, and to describe the institution which has taken its place in criminal trials upon indictment.

We now leave West Africa to consider the history of the jury system in other parts of the continent and turn first to Zanzibar. This is the oldest as well as the smallest of Britain's East African possessions, and though the jury system was completely abolished there in 19492 its history prior to that is worthy of some consideration. It will be seen that the introd...

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 Engl...