Proposal Made to Reduce the Number of Jurors in Russian Courts to Four

The number of jurors in Russian courts is proposed to be reduced to four people

The Supreme Court has put forward an initiative for a large-scale reform of the jury trial system, Vedomosti writes.

The concept, the publication notes, envisages moving away from the classic Anglo-Saxon model and returning to the continental tradition of mixed panels.

First of all, it is proposed to combine the professional judge and jurors into a single panel, reducing the number of jurors to four in all courts. Currently, the number of jurors depends on the level of the court hearing the case — six or eight people. In addition, citizens over 65 will be allowed to serve as jurors.

It is expected that the judge will be able to give explanations to jurors in the deliberation room. According to the authors of the reform, this will increase the stability of verdicts. At present, the authors of the initiative note, there is a high percentage of reversals of verdicts handed down by juries.

🔵The last large-scale jury court reform in Russia was initiated by Vladimir Putin and came into force on June 1, 2018. As part of the changes, jury trials operated for the first time at the level of district and garrison military courts, and the size of panels was reduced: from 12 to eight people in regional courts and to six people in district courts.

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