The concept was presented at a round table at the Russian State University of Justice named after V. M. Lebedev. It was outlined by Nikolai Timoshin, chairman of the Criminal Cases Panel of the Supreme Court.
Under this scheme, the presiding judge in the case will be able to be in the deliberation room with the jurors and explain questions about the procedure for delivering the verdict. The Supreme Court believes that combining the panel will simplify procedures and shorten trial times.
Supreme Court judge Sergei Zelenin said that the division of powers will remain: jurors will still independently decide questions of fact, guided by their inner conviction. They will not be required to justify their decisions, as they are now.
Timoshin also said that the reform should increase jurors’ motivation, strengthen responsibility for interfering in their activities, and reduce the grounds for overturning acquittals. According to him, such a form makes it possible to “significantly optimize the course of the case proceedings” and отказаться from many unnecessary procedures.
Zelenin added that the authority and guarantee of the independence of a professional judge in one panel with jurors will strengthen their confidence in protection from unlawful external pressure. The concept also provides for the possibility of including citizens over 65 in the jury if they want to participate in the proceedings and their health allows it.
In addition, the Supreme Court proposes abandoning the dissolution of the panel because of bias in its composition and allowing the court to consider procedural issues in the presence of jurors that are outside their competence. The defendant is to be given the right to voluntarily and knowingly отказаться from a previously filed motion for the case to be heard by a jury.
Currently, district and garrison military courts hear cases with six main jurors, while regional, territorial, and equivalent courts have eight, with at least two alternate jurors provided in both cases. According to statistics cited by RBC, in 2025, 643 cases out of 640,962 were heard with the participation of jurors, that is, about 0.1%.
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