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A roundtable conference “Introduction of finding objective truth in a criminal case” took place in the State Duma today. The main subject on the agenda was discussion of draft federal law “On amendments to Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation related to introduction of finding objective truth in a criminal case”.

The round table was attended by: head of the Main Organization and Inspection Office of the Russia’s Investigative Committee Anatoly Korotkov, spokesman of the Russia’s Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin, president of the Russian Lawyers Guild Gasan Mirzoyev, head of criminal procedure, justice and prosecutor’s control department of law faculty in M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University Leonid Golovko, deputy of the State Duma Alexander Remezkov, who had introduced the bill in question, deputies of the State Duma, agents of law enforcement bodies, representatives of judicial authority of NGOs, of expert and scientific communities. The moderator of the discussion was representative of the State Duma committee for civil, criminal, arbitration and procedural legislation Pavel Krasheninnikov.

The bill under discussion supposes far-reaching changes in criminal legislation and has already caused heating discussions both among experts and among journalists and citizens. The round table discussed how search for objective truth would affect implementation of presumption of innocence and adversary nature of the trial, to what extent such legislative initiatives help ensure justice. Special focus is made on the balanced adversary nature of the trial, when the judge is concentrated on an active search for the truth and seeing some slight discrepancies which on the first sight do not have any considerable legal importance and which the defense does not indicate, will take measures on their own initiative towards their additional verification. This way even if the defense is not active enough, the justice will be provided in full anyway.

A number of reports were heard during the round table. Deputies of the State Duma Alexander Remezkov and Pavel Dorokhin, president of the Russian Lawyers Guild Gasan Mirzoyev, head of law department in M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University Leonid Golovko said in favor of the bill. During the discussion, it was fairly noted that some of the judges deduct from the current criminal and criminal procedure legislation and use ideas offered in the bill, while others do not pay due attention to it. So there was expressed the necessity to enshrine a single approach in the law. Most of participants recognized the bill essential and agreed with the necessity of the reform suggested by the Russia’s Investigative Committee.