Criteria for Determining the Boundaries of Judicial Precincts and Other Ways of Regulating the Burden Magistrates

Abstract

The distribution of the burden between the justices of the peace is carried out with the help of the norms on generic and territorial jurisdiction, on the definition of the boundaries of judicial areas, on the methods of transferring cases. When creating and abolishing judicial precincts, regions are guided by a territorial criterion, the effective use of which is designed to equalize the workload of magistrates of one judicial district. The law provides for the possibility of transferring cases between judges of one judicial district on the basis of a reasoned order of the chairman of the district court, such a method of load regulation should be attributed to an auxiliary regulator, for the implementation of which it is necessary to use official statistical data, all categories of cases under consideration should be taken into account to determine the average load for the judicial district. It is necessary to constantly monitor the population in the judicial district, the location of infrastructure facilities and other facilities that serve or may serve as sources of increased workload (shopping and entertainment centers, social institutions, residential complexes, etc.). If the established population indicators in judicial precincts, judicial district exceed or decrease, such data should serve as a basis for the creation, abolition of judicial precincts, and in case of deviation from the average indicators in the judicial district, they should be the basis for clarifying (changing) the boundaries of judicial precincts. An even distribution of the workload will have a positive impact on the quality of justice, the organization of the judicial process, and staffing. The main factors in the formation of judicial sections that affect the load are the population and the territory of the judicial district, the auxiliary ones are the order of the chairman of the court on load regulation, other auxiliary factors: statistical data, assessment of the categories and complexity of the cases under consideration, accounting for objects that are “sources of increased load”. The correct organization of solving the problem of the workload of magistrates in the judicial district is the most important task both for the implementation of the principles of judicial proceedings and for ensuring access to justice.