Certain issues of exercising the right of citizens to participate in administration of criminal justice in the Russian Federation at the current stage

Abstract

The object of this research is the constitutional framework of the institution of citizens’ participation in administration of justice, viewed as the fundamental principles of relationship between the democratic state and its citizens. Participation of citizens in court as lay judges is of constitutional nature. One of the forms of citizen’s participation in administration of criminal justice in particular is the jury trial. The goal of this research consists in the analysis of certain aspects of mechanism of exercising the right of citizens to participate in administration of criminal justice in the Russian Federation, as well as in development of recommendations for its improvement.  Leaning on the dialectical, systematic, formal-legal, comparative-legal, structural-functional and sociological methods, the author analyzes the current situation pertinent of exercising by the citizens of the Russian Federation of the constitutional right to participate in administration of justice, and substantiated the feasibility of measures for creating conditions for the more active implementation of such right in the area of criminal justice. The author reveals the reasons of passive attitude of the citizens of the Russian Federation towards implementation of their constitutional right to participate in administration of justice as jury, and concludes on the need for taking certain measures on the federal level aimed at attraction of citizens in administration of justice: increase of the legal culture of population, increase of the level of information awareness of the citizens about the jury trial; revision of legal regulation of the procedure of formation of the jury.