District courts of Russia

The district and town courts of Russia (Russian: районный суд or городской суд; also called rayon or raion courts) are primarily courts of first instance in the judiciary of Russia but sometimes hear appeals from magistrates.[1] They are formed in raion or areas (районах), urban areas (районах в городах), and cities (городах). Decisions of the court are appealed to the regional court.

As courts of first instance, they handle criminal cases where imprisonment is for more than 3 years, and consist of 1 judge and a jury where required.[1][2] As courts of appeal from decisions of the magistrates consisting of 1 justice of the peace, they consist of 1 judge and retry the case.[1]

They were called People's Courts until 1996.[1]

See also

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References

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  • Terrill, Richard J. (2009). World Criminal Justice Systems: A Survey (7 ed.). Elsevier. ISBN 978-1-59345-612-2.
  1. ^ a b c d Terrill 2009, p. 425.
  2. ^ Terrill 2009, p. 439.