Criminal procedure
The principle of adversary procedure has been constitutionally rooted since 1992 and was codified in the 1993 Jury Law. Although the new jury system has been preliminarily limited to just nine of Russia's eighty-nine political subdivisions, the new provisions have begun to be applied in nonjury cases. Three of the prime aspects of the turn to adversary procedure that were at the heart of the reform movement were: (1) reducing the role of the procuracy to that of prosecutor of criminal cases with powers equal to that of the defense; (2) transforming the judge from an inquisitor, duty-bound to determine the truth and empowered to perform quasi-prosecutorial functions, into an impartial arbiter, who guarantees the equal rights of the parties during the trial; and (3) strengthening defense rights, including the right to counsel.
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