Poll: 50% of citizens are ready to become a jury member

Half of the participants in the poll conducted by the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation showed that 50% of citizens are ready to become jurors, and the most frequent reasons for refusal were the length of the process and the lack of confidence in their safety.

According to RIA Novosti, referring to the results of the study, 24% of the respondents would not participate in the trial as a jury. 25% found it difficult to answer.

The authors of the study point out that among the main reasons for refusing to participate in a court is directly the fear of judging a person - 22.9% , as well as the length of the trial - 21% , lack of confidence in their own safety - 16.8% , loss of income - 10%, distrust court - 9.7%.

Experts believe that fear for their safety may be related to the low level of awareness of citizens about the measures taken to ensure the safety of the jury. Fear of losing income - not knowing that the jury is getting paid.

31% of respondents noted that their acquaintances, who had previously participated in the trial as a jury, negatively assessed this experience.

- Only 66% of respondents are aware of the introduction of a jury trial in district courts since June 2018, which indicates a fairly low level of public awareness of the changes that have taken place in the judicial system. Moreover, only 54% of respondents are aware of the fact that citizens are paid a monetary remuneration for participating in a court as a juror, analysts said.

31% of those surveyed said that the jury should be involved in both criminal and civil cases.