The government has approved a federal programme on the development of the judiciary branch for 2013-2020, with a total budget of 90.6 billion roubles, or some $3 billion. 

According to Andrey Belousov, Minister of Economic Development, 68.4 billion will be spent on the construction, renovation and acquisition of buildings for the courts, 9 billion will go to improve the IT infrastructure, and 7.3 billion will be spent on housing for judges and court staff.

Alexander Gusev, director of the court department of the Supreme Court, said that video and audio taping during proceedings will be introduced starting from next year. 

However, there is one key indicator missing from the new federal programme, and that is higher trust to courts. According to the study done for the current programme, only 27 percent have confidence in the Russian judiciary. Shortcomings of the courts in Russia have also been a major concern for businesses, especially foreign companies who have pinned their hopes on Russia’s WTO accession to improve the situation.

 

Sources: http://www.vedomosti.ru