regional court russia

judge and jury info A judge and a jury, or alternatively 3 judges, hear these cases. As appellate courts, they hear decisions of district courts that have not yet entered into force, and consist of 3 judges. t hey hear more complex civil cases and serious criminal cases. Judges are appointed by the Federation Council, and serve for life.Federation Council Candidates are recommended by the Qualification Collegia / Supreme Qualification Collegium to the President, who in turn recommends candidates to the Federation Council.Qualification CollegiaSupreme Qualification Collegium A candidate must be at least 25 years old, is expected to have received a higher legal education(commonly a specialist degree).higher legal educationspecialist degree Have at least 5 years of experience in the legal profession, and pass an examination from the Ministry of Justice.Ministry of Justice Justices of the peaceJustices of the peace require most of the same qualifications

jury - For serious and specific crimes, the accused have the option of a jury trial consisting of 12 jurorsjury trial - A juror must be 25 years old, legally competent, and without a criminal record. - The 12 jurors are selected by the prosecution and defense from a list of eligible candidates

- They must return unanimous verdicts during the first 3 hours of deliberation, but may return majority verdicts after that - with 6 jurors being enough to acquit. They may also request that the judge show leniency in sentencin

sentencing Sentencing The sentencing for Regional courts can be hefty fines. The Regional Courts can also impose prison sentences as long as life imprisonment.

cases Regional Court Cases These are courts of first instance and appellate courts. As courts of first instance they hear serious criminal cases and complex civil cases. Amongst the cases considered by Russian regional courts, the majority were for premeditated murder with aggravating circumstances and rapes with

example of cases Example Zelemkhan Aushev and nine individuals with the surname Kartoyev were brought to court in the case of the Moscow-St. Petersburg train bombing killed 28 people while injuring 90. The Tver Region Court found all 10 individuals guilty of involvement in an illegal armed group and illegal arms sales, and handed down sentences ranging in severity from two years to life imprisonment on May 22. The Tver Regional Court satisfied Russian Railways' civil lawsuit against Zelemkhan Aushev and Beslan, Murad and Tatarkhan Kartoyev, who were sentenced to life in prison and a fine of $4.22 million in damages after the bombing.

Appeals court M oscow City Court The first appeal, or “cassation” (the Russian criminal law terminology for an appeal), is directed to the Moscow City Court, which has 30 days to schedule appellate hearings. The hearings may last as long as it takes the Court to reach its decision. The Moscow City Court may dismiss the charges, change the ruling or sentence, order a new trial, or uphold the lower court ruling. If the Court chooses the latter route, the sentence becomes immediately enforceable and the defendants will be transferred from the detention center to the labor camp to complete their 9-year sentence. Prosecutors indicated in May 2005 that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev would shortly be charged with new crimes. In this case, they would remain in pre-trial detention rather than being transferred to labor camp. E