After a Commission chaired by Lord Diplock recommended that cases connected with the 'troubles' should be tried by judge alone, rather than jury, the Diplock Courts have been a controversial feature of Northern Ireland's response to political violence. This title assesses the impact of Diplock Courts and considers their broader implications.

Cases connected with the troubles in Northern Ireland have been tried by a judge sitting without a jury in 'Diplock Courts'. Given the symbolic importance of the jury within the common law tradition, this study offers the first systematic comparison of the process of trial by judge alone with that of trial by jury. The authors determine the impact of the replacement of jury trial with trial by a professional judge on the adversarial character of the criminal trial process.