This Act is enacted to facilitate the participation in the criminal trial by both citizens and judges, enhance the transparency of the judiciary, account for the public's opinions towards the law, promote the public's confidence in the judiciary, and provide the public with a better understanding of the judiciary, so as to honor the ideal of popular sovereignty.

The terms used in this Act shall be defined as follows:
1. A "citizen judge" shall mean a person who is appointed pursuant to this Act to participate in a trial and the Final Deliberation.
2. An "Alternate Citizen Judge" shall mean a person who is appointed by a court, depending on the need of a trial, pursuant to this Act to substitute for a citizen judge in sequence in the event that a citizen judge cannot perform his or her duties.
3. "Final Deliberation" shall mean the procedure in which the citizen judges and judges discuss and vote for the finding of facts, the application of the law and the sentencing after the closing of the oral argument of a trial before a Tribunal with citizen judges.
4. A "Tribunal with citizen judges" shall mean a panel, which shall consist of three judges and six citizen judges who shall jointly adjudicate cases assigned by this Act.

A case with the participation of citizen judges shall be heard by a Tribunal with citizen judges which shall be composed of three judges and six citizen judges. The division-chief judge shall serve as the presiding judge; if there is no such division-chief judge or the division-chief judge cannot serve as the presiding judge, the most senior judge shall serve as the presiding judge, and in case there are two judges whose seniority is the same, the elder judge shall serve as the presiding judge.
Any national of the Republic of China shall have the rights and obligations to participate in a criminal trial as a citizen judge or an alternate citizen judge pursuant to this Act.
The selection and appointment of citizen judges should avoid persons who show bias, discriminations, or other misconducts.

Unless otherwise provided in this Act, provisions of the Court Organization Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure and other statutory laws shall apply to a case with the participation of citizen judges.