THE JURY IN UKRAINE

A jury trial is a cornerstone of American justice, and the United States is a model of the legal system of a modern democracy. There is no democratic court without a jury. In any case, the United States is convinced that this is so. Moreover, it is the duty of every American citizen to be a juror.

The Constitution of Ukraine (Articles 124, 127, etc.) provides for a jury trial. But the development of these constitutional theses did not receive further legislation by the legislator. What we now call a jury trial (2 judges and 3 jurors sitting together - Article 31 Part 3 and Article 383 Part 3 of the CPC of Ukraine) is in fact a model of the German Scheffen court. Why isn't this a jury trial? First, there is no spectrum of opinion. It is believed that the jury should consist of at least 6 people (US Supreme Court position), the classic model - 12 jurors, exotic - 15 jurors (Scotland). Second, jurors cannot work with judges in the same panel, either organizationally (discuss the process in the same room) or functionally (a professional judge must consider procedural issues, a panel of jurors - issues of proof of fact and guilt).

Few people want to be a juror in Ukraine in a situation where other processes take years. But this is not a problem of the jury trial as a model of justice, it is the cost of criminal procedure legislation and the efficiency of the judicial system.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine currently has two bills that provide for the reform of the Ukrainian jury. The Anglo-American model is being introduced

Both bills try to answer the above questions of principle.

The draft laws provide for the settlement of such important issues as:

• The fact that the jurors will receive the salary of a professional judge,
• in the case of a jury hearing high-profile cases, they may be deprived of means of communication, and they themselves are placed in a special safe place, for the impossibility of putting pressure on them.
• The procedure for protecting jurors from outside influence, etc.

It is worth noting that the reform of the jury trial should take place together, within the judicial reform, and not be discussed somewhere on the periphery. Therefore, further news of this institute can be followed in the coming months.