the judicial system
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the All-Russian Congress of Judges and urged judges not to forget the freedoms and constitutional rights of citizens.
“The rights and freedoms of our citizens are guaranteed by the Constitution. They are unshakable. We should never forget that,” he said.
In his speech, Putin expressed the view that the guarantee of respect for human rights in the judicial process increased and errors were eliminated faster and more comprehensively.
He added that “challenge and threats” in the conduct of trials, investigations and other judicial proceedings “cannot excuse a superficial or accusatory approach”.
At his meeting with the judges, Putin called for the fastest possible integration of the regions admitted into the country – the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions – into the Russian judicial system.
He explained the urgency by the need to secure the “constitutional right to judicial protection” for those living in these areas.
“Federal courts are planned to be established in these regions. Putin, along with other judicial bodies, said there is still a lot of work to be done to create new court formations and integrate them into the Russian judicial system.
According to him, “this is a very serious business, connected not only with the selection of court personnel, including judges, court workers, but also with the construction of new buildings, material and technical support for the activities of courts.”
The death penalty problem
Valery Zorkin, President of the Constitutional Court of Russia, spoke at the congress. The 79-year-old judge has been president of the Constitutional Court since 2003. In his speech, he touched on the issue of the death penalty – in early November, the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, former President Dmitry Medvedev, said that the moratorium on the death penalty could be “passed”.
According to Zorkin, the moratorium on such punishments in Russia cannot be lifted without amendments to the country’s Constitution.
“Only amending the Constitution, because [смертной казни — «Газета.Ru»] under these circumstances, the official interpretation of the Constitutional Court may serve as the basis for the resumption of the death penalty. But let me remind you that this is Article 20, which refers to Chapter Two, “Citizens’ Rights and Freedoms.” And the truth is that the Constitution is structured in such a way that it is necessary to actually adopt a new Constitution in order to change and bring this article and give it a different meaning.”
In response to the recent statements in the State Duma about the necessity of the death penalty (Dmitry Medvedev also mentioned this), Zorkin noted: “If the writers who defend it are ready, then, as they say, the flag is in their hands. ”