Kharkiv – The authorities are speculating on the possible prosecution of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko by a trial jury in the case on the murder of MP Yevhen Scherban, as, in fact, there is no trial jury in Ukraine, the ex-premier's defense lawyer, Serhiy Vlasenko, has said.
“There is no trial jury in Ukraine. Under the new Criminal Procedure Code, a trial jury in Ukraine is the composition of the court, which includes two judges and three jurors as they [the authors of the Criminal Procedure Code] call them. But in reality there is no trial jury. These are what in Soviet times were called ‘people’s assessors,'” Vlasenko told Interfax-Ukraine.
He noted that the jurors and people’s assessors differ on the principles of work and functions.
“The jury, separately from the judges, decides on the guilt or innocence of a person, and this is their task. The jury – these are ordinary people – teachers, plumbers, vendors on the market, businesspersons, housewives, etc. And, of course, they decide whether the person is guilty or not, regardless of whether they judge the prime minister, the president or anyone else. The judge does not intervene in the work of the jury when it makes decisions. Secondly, jurors only decide whether a person is guilty or not guilty, and that’s all. The judge, after receiving this verdict, already sets punishment, after jurors themselves decided that the person is guilty,” Vlasenko said.
