1. Introduction Sanja Kutnjak Ivkovic´, Shari Seidman Diamond, Valerie P. Hans and Nancy S. Marder; Part I. Advancements in Lay Participation: 2. The Rise of the Jury in Argentina: Evolution in Real Time Vanina G. Almeida, Denise C. Bakrokar, Mariana Bilinski, Natali D. Chizik, Andre´ s Harfuch, Lilia´n Andrea Ortiz, Maria Sidonie Porterie, Aldana Romano, and Shari Seidman Diamond; 3. Twelve Years of Mixed Tribunals in Argentina Marı´a Ine´ s Bergoglio; 4. Lay Participation in the Criminal Trial in Japan: A Decade of Activity and its Sociopolitical Consequences Dimitri Vanoverbeke and Hiroshi Fukurai; 5. The Korean Jury System: The First Decade Jaihyun Park; 6. The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Spanish Jury Mar Jimeno-Bulnes; Part II. Enduring Systems of Lay Participation: 7. “ …And My Right”: The Magistrates' Courts in England and Wales Stefan Machura; 8.“In the Name of the People”: Lay Assessors in Germany Stefan Machura and Christoph Rennig; 9 The Jury in Canada: Testing the Comprehensibility of Styles of Jury Instructions and the Effectiveness of Aids Marie Comiskey; Part III. Challenges to lay Participation in Law: 10. Dismissing the Jury: Mixed Courts and Lay Participation in Norway Anna Offit; 11. Trials by Peers: The Ebb and Flow of the Criminal Jury in France and Belgium Claire M. Germain; 12. The Russian Jury Trial: An Ongoing Legal and Political Experiment Nikolai Kovalev and Sergei Nasonov; 13. Trial by Jury in Georgia: A Catalyst for Evolving Independent Courts Nikolai Kovalev and Giorgi Meladze; Part IV. Global Perspectives on Lay Participation: 14. What Hollywood, USA, Teaches the World (Incorrectly and Correctly) about Juries Nancy S. Marder; 15. The Case for a Hybrid Jury in Europe John D. Jackson; 16. A Worldwide Perspective on Lay Participation Sanja Kutnjak Ivkovic´ and Valerie P. Hans.