The following statement was utilized back in former times in Europe, signifying for those that were facing a judicial trial, that they had a "choice" between being judged by "God," or by being judged by their fellow countrymen through a jury. Obviously, as much as some people might well desire to be judged by God, the structure of such, wasn't ever going to be beneficial for them -- for whenever those in authority were the ones to determine as to how best to interpret God's judgment, it wasn't typically going to end well for those on trial. On the other hand, being judged by a jury of fellow citizens, could conceivably produce a more satisfying result.
Those that are citizens of a given nation, are always vulnerable to being charged with a crime, and especially so, in those countries in which, the rule of law, is ever shifting – so that, the last best hope for those so accused of a crime, is probably going to be held in the hands of those that are one's fellow citizens, as opposed to any other choice, so presented -- because there are, in fact, no appeals, ever to God, that would conceivably work in a court of justice, in this material world, for God in that construct, ever remains silent.
How people are judged for a given crime when so accused of such, is very important, of which, one way that governments have forever kept their people down and in their place, is to impress upon the people, that they, as in a king, for instance, have been directly appointed to their position, by God – therefore then, whatever decision that they so make or render, is God sanctioned. Since, we know that God is without error, this seems to imply that decisions so made by God's representatives upon this earth, must then, always be correct, if we so believe in the validity of that premise; yet, the results of this type of justice, clearly show that this could not conceivably be true, in fact.
What we so find is that as humankind has become more literate, and therefore wiser, they thus know, that to appeal to God in a human court, so ruled by humans, is not an avenue that is ever going to produce a divine or a perfect decision. This signifies that the only conceivable way to get justice is to be judged by someone or something that is going to, at a minimum, first admit that they are not God – which, therefore signifies that decisions so made will be, by definition, subject to being fallible, but they could also be found to be fair and correct. This indicates that an honest admission that our justice system is susceptible to error, thus provides the avenue for societies to, if they so desire and concentrate upon such, work towards providing a judicial system which actually serves to seek justice, above all, and therefore is worthy for all those that appeal to their own country, to treat them with the respect, due to them, as citizens.