Markova, T.Y. Posing questions to the jurors according to the Charter of Criminal Judicial Proceedings

Abstract: The article provides for the differences between the Anglo-American and Continental systems of posing questions to the jurors. The author studies the causes for the introduction of the stage of posing question to the board of jurors into the Russian criminal process and evaluates positive and negative features of inclusion of this stage of judicial proceedings. The author analyzes the grounds for posing questions to the jurors, the rights of the court and the parties, procedure and cases, when the conclusions of an accusation may be changed, as well as the consequences of the failure to comply with the existing procedure for the changes in the charge brought against a criminal defendant. The author provides the position of the pre-Revolution lawyers on how the judicial investigation and final arguments of the parties may change or amend the conclusions of an accusation. The author refers to the decisions of the Cassation Senate, which provided guidelines for the courts on how the discrepancy between some elements of a criminal act according to the accusation and the criminal law may be resolved. The author defines and discusses the requirements to the contents and formulations of the questions, which were posed to the board of jurors, noting the cases, when it was prohibited to combine several questions into one. Finally, at the end of the article the author analyzes the right of parties and jurors to petition on amendments and changes into the list of questions, as well as the competence of the court regarding such petitions.

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