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Lessons in justice
Peoria Journal Star (Peoria, IL)
Posted on August 3, 2001
By Andy Kravetz
Four Russian judges hope to modernize their courts by studying the nuances of the U.S. system.
Four Russian judges visiting Peoria this week say they are struck by the level of camaraderie that exists within our judiciary - something decidedly absent in theirs.
"It is different in Russia. We exist as three separate entities" of prosecutors, judges and public defenders, said Yuri Leonardovich Sobina through an interpreter.
But while praising our system for its openness and participation, the Moscow resident hinted that the countries' systems may have some things in common. "In Russia, people don't want to serve on juries," he said.
Sobina and his colleagues have met with state and federal judges all this week as part of the Library of Congress' Open World Russian Leadership program - a government effort to teach leaders of that country's fledgling democracy how the U.S. system works.
The judges gave a glimpse into the judicial reforms under way in their country during a brief interview in the chambers of U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm, the local program host.
Alimzhan Kayumovich Shaymerdyanov from the Vladimir region discussed how the country is undertaking a multi-year plan to revamp the judicial system there.
The judicial system is based upon outdated laws written during the heyday of the Soviet Union. Old rules and regulations that gave the state absolute power are now making it difficult to form an impartial judiciary based in law, he said.
Added Anatoliy Vladimirovich Astanin from Altai Krai, a region in western Siberia: "It will be difficult to work under different circumstances, but not as difficult as it would have been since we have a skeleton."
That skeleton is a slew of reforms moving through the Russian parliament, the Duma. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to completely restructure the court system not only for idealistic reasons, but also for economic ones. Investors are wary to jump into the Russian economy because they have worried about the lack of impartiality within the judiciary.
Among the reforms he has proposed are: introduction of jury trials on a limited basis; revamping the criminal code; and new restrictions on the powers of prosecutors.
Shaymerdyanov and others admitted their country has not reached the same level of independence as the United States in terms of judges being able to rule on cases without influence. But they are making progress.
"That way, a judge is able to make a particular decision in a specific case based upon the law - and not because of the influence of the Legislature or the Executive Branch," said Vladimir Vyacheslavovich Poletov from the Ivanovo region east of Moscow.
[Permission granted by Peoria Journal Star. ]
[Reprinted with Permission]
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