Constitutional Court finds cancellation of juries compliant with Russian Constitution

Today the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation has announced its decision on the case, which entailed check of the constitutionality of part 2, Article 30, and part 2, Article 325, of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) the Russian Federation, according to which crimes of terrorist character cannot be tried by juries. The Court has found no contradiction of the above provisions with the Russian Constitution.

The Definition of the Constitutional Court runs that "Article 20 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees to citizens the right to have their cases considered by juries not in all cases, but only at trying especially grave crimes. The Constitution establishes that a jury is a necessary component of the right to judicial defence only in the cases, when the defendant is under threat of appointed death penalty. The definition of the categories of cases falling into the jurisdiction of juries is in the competence of the legislator."

"Thus, according to the Constitution, the right to a jury is not among the fundamental rights belonging to everyone from birth. The generally recognized principles and norms of the international law also do not include the right to a jury into the number of the necessary components of the right to fair justice," says the Definition.

The Court has also referred to the fact that Russia enjoys moratorium on enforcing death penalty; hence, the federal legislator has the right to withdraw the above crimes out of the jurisdiction of juries.