A sign outside a courtroom in Malmö.

Lyssna: How the coronavirus could curtail the work of Swedish courts

With older people at gravest risk for the coronavirus, many of Sweden's elderly lay judges might have to step down from court proceedings.

There are about 8,000 lay judges and nearly half of them are older than 65 years old. They are appointed by political parties at the municipal level to help presiding professional judge hear and rule on court cases.

And as concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 virus escalate, some lay judges may need to self-isolate meaning some legal cases...