In his speech, President Putin particularly stressed that the social and political situation inside the country and the world’s attitude to Russia depended directly on the level and quality of legal proceedings.
He called attention to the fact that the Supreme Court had taken an active part in renovating the legislative base governing the administration of justice.
The President noted with satisfaction that the mechanisms incorporated into the new Criminal Procedure Code showed their effectiveness within the first six months of its adoption: the number of inmates at pre-trial centres dropped by over 20%, and the number of acquittals increased by 200%.
Among the most pressing tasks of legal reform President Putin named jury trials, increasing the number of justices of the peace, and improving the quality of work of the college of judges.
At the meeting he presented government awards to judges of Russia’s Supreme Court.