Russia’s Courts, Judges Struggle to Win Public Trust ­ Poll

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, August 13, 2013) ­ Russia’s courts and judges have yet to win the public’s trust ­ or so suggests a poll by the Public Opinion Foundation released Tuesday.

Just 27 percent of respondents said they think Russian courts and judges are doing a good job, 35 percent said they were doing a bad job, and 38 percent could not say either way.

In a similar poll in 2004, 46 percent said they are doing a bad job, 28 percent could not answer, and 26 percent said they are doing well.

Over half the respondents (57 percent) in this year’s poll said they would prefer to avoid going to court and instead defend their rights in other ways ­ a significant increase on last year’s 44 percent.

When asked to describe Russia’s judges in their own words, just 17 percent of respondents said “honest,” “just” or “incorruptible,” with 6 percent describing them as “competent,” “experienced,” or “hardworking.”

Thirty-seven percent of respondents gave no answer, and 15 percent called them “greedy,” “corrupt,” or open to taking bribes, and another 5 percent called them “puppets.”

Asked about sentencing, 37 percent of respondents said unfair sentences are common, 21 percent said unfair sentences are handed down rarely, and 41 percent did not answer.

According to another survey, released in late July by the independent Levada Center pollster, just 25 percent of respondents said an average Russian can expect a fair trial.

The Public Opinion Foundation survey was conducted in late July using a nationwide sample of 1,500 adults across the country with a statistical margin of error of 3.6 percent, the pollster said.