Books by Nikolai Kovalev
Criminal Justice Reform in Russia, Ukraine and the Former Republics of the Soviet Union: Trial by Jury and Mixed Courts
Papers by Nikolai Kovalev
Drawing on a second survey of lay adjudication in Europe conducted by the authors in 2011-2012, t... more Drawing on a second survey of lay adjudication in Europe conducted by the authors in 2011-2012, this article points to a general decline across Europe in the use of the 'traditional' jury and a trend towards diminishing its capacity to deliver independent decisions. Two examples from Eastern and Western Europe are used to illustrate this trend: a case study of the Russian jury shows how a lack of respect within the legal culture of professionals for lay adjudication has reduced the jury in Russia to a mere 'decorative' institution and an analysis of the ECtHR's jurisprudence shows how the Court's concern to avoid arbitrary decision making has been encouraging Western European states to introduce greater accountability measures, which threaten the jury's independence. The article ends on a more optimistic note by arguing that greater accountability measures need not detract from the jury' s traditional role in promoting lay and political participation in the administration of justice.
Two key issues are examined. The article examines whether the legislation of post-Soviet countrie... more Two key issues are examined. The article examines whether the legislation of post-Soviet countries in relation to the qualification, listing and empanelling of jurors and lay assessors is consistent with the standards applied in developed democracies. Simultaneously, the article explores what standards and rules of selection of lay adjudicators should be incorporated into the legislation of post-Soviet states in order to insure impartiality and independence of lay adjudicators. The article reveals a significant number of defects and gaps that allow executives and court personnel to manipulate the selection process and hamper the formation of impartial, independent and representative lay courts. An examination of the legislation in post-Soviet countries and of the empirical data collected in Russia lead to the conclusion that the mechanisms of the voir dire, peremptory challenges and challenges to entire juries should be reviewed and improved in order to provide reliable safeguards for the selection of impartial and independent lay adjudicators and prevent parties from excluding prospective lay adjudicators for discriminatory reasons.
This paper explores the legal and political role of the jury system in contemporary Russia. It ai... more This paper explores the legal and political role of the jury system in contemporary Russia. It aims to examine whether trial by jury is an essential right of Russian citizens (jurata patriae) or, rather, a prerogative of the state (raison d'état). The main focus of the paper is the analysis of the Russian Constitution and the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. In particular, the authors consider a recent majority decision of the Constitutional Court, which uphold the constitutionality of the law that abolished jury trials for terrorist, espionage and other crimes against the state.
This Article, which draws upon a research study conducted by the authors on lay adjudication in 4... more This Article, which draws upon a research study conducted by the authors on lay adjudication in 46 Member States of the Council of Europe, focuses on the extent to which the practices and procedures of lay adjudication are compatible with international standards of human rights. The Article provides an outline of the main models of continental lay adjudication that can be discerned within the criminal procedural systems of the Council of Europe states, and examines the implications for human rights in the manner in which a number of specific issues, such as selection and training, evidence, deliberation, judgment, and appeals, are addressed. The Article concludes by considering reforms that are currently under way, some in contrary directions, and argues that the reform debate in both established and transitional systems of criminal justice has focused unduly on the competing merits of different models of lay adjudication without enough emphasis on the manner in which each of the different models might enhance the protection of human rights. The Article proposes a number of principles that could be adopted within different models of lay adjudication in order to enhance human rights objectives.
The article examines issues of potential anti-victim jury bias in hate crime trials of skinheads ... more The article examines issues of potential anti-victim jury bias in hate crime trials of skinheads in Russia. The study is based on the analysis of court transcripts and interviews with judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and victims’ lawyers who participated in four high profile criminal cases. The cases selected for analysis resulted in scandalous acquittals, which raised many questions within the Russian society as to whether lay citizens can and should adjudicate hate crimes committed against members of ethnic and racial minority groups. The results of the study have revealed that the juries in these cases did not demonstrate any bias against ethnic and racial minority victims. On the contrary, it can be suggested that after hearing evidence presented to them, juries were left with a reasonable doubt regarding the guilt of the accused.
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Books by Nikolai Kovalev
Papers by Nikolai Kovalev