In Finland, two (previously and sometimes also today three) lay judges (lautamies, nominative pl. lautamiehet) are called in into serious or complicated cases in district courts, to accompany a professional, legally trained judge. The professional judge is the chairman of the panel, but otherwise the judges have equal rights. The aim is to introduce their "common sense of justice" into the process. Simpler cases are handled by one or three professional judges, and all Appeals Court, Supreme Court and administrative court judges are necessarily professional.
Lay judges are appointed by local municipal councils, in practice by negotiations between political parties, from volunteers. Each municipality elects a number of lay judges depending on its size, or two at minimum. The minimum qualifications are Finnish citizenship, full citizenship rights (i.e. may not be a dependent or in bankruptcy), 25–64 years of age when elected, and general suitability for the position. Lay judges must resign at the age of 68 at the latest. Officials of the judicial, law enforcement or corrections authorities, such as prosecutors, attorneys, policemen, distrainers or customs officers may not be elected as lay judges.
New legislation (2009) has limited the role of lay judges. They are employed only in serious criminal cases, which comprised 6% of cases in 2013. Instead, 29% of cases were handled in writing and 65% with a single professional judge. Almost all (>94%) cases concerning homicides, child molestations and vandalism are handled with lay judges. Formerly they always sat in for instance family law proceedings. On average, lay judges sit in session for 12 days a year, or 24 days at maximum.