Rights or rituals? Why juries can do more harm than good (PLA 40)

Citizens' juries have been developed in both Europe and the USA as a means to improving public involvement in policy decision-making, particularly in the area of local government. While citizens' juries are only one of many inputs into the policy-making process, they may, through confidence building, encourage more active citizenship. For some, the great strength of citizens' juries is the opportunity they provide for informed deliberation. However, a closer look at a citizen jury in action in Wales (UK) suggests that this may be overstating the case.

This article was published in PLA 40: Deliberative Democracy and Citizen Empowerment (February 2001). Participatory Learning and Action (PLA, formerly PLA Notes) is the world's leading series on participatory learning and action approaches and methods. PLA publishes articles on participation aimed at practitioners, researchers, academics, students and activists. All articles are peer-reviewed by an international editorial board.

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