MOSCOW, March 14. The President of Russia Vladimir Putin submitted to the state Duma a package of draft laws on the extension of the application of the Institute of jurors. Information about this is available in the electronic database of the lower house of Parliament.
Expert opinion
Author: GOLOVKO Leonid
Golovko
Leonid
“The bill is aimed at expanding the use of a jury system in order to further develop and strengthen the democratic foundations of the criminal proceedings, openness of justice and public confidence in the court”, – stated in the explanatory Memorandum.
In particular, it is proposed “to expand application of Institute of jurors by providing accused of committing especially serious crimes against the person in criminal matters, which belong to the jurisdiction of the district court and garrison military court, the right to petition for consideration of their cases by a panel of judges of the district court and equal Federal court of General jurisdiction and six jurors”
Putin: reform of the jury system
Earlier, the President noted the need to reform the jury system.
“It is obvious that the current system of formation of the jury summoning is far from perfect. Actually, why the jury has to be 12? Why not 20, 25, 10 or 7? There’s no scientific basis that the more jurors, the verdict fairer, and more efficient to work the system,” he said.
Vladimir Putin also proposed to extend the use of jury trials to district courts. The President acknowledged that it is connected with serious financial expenses.
See also
The jury trial in Russia: a dossier
