Participation of citizens in the court consideration of criminal cases against minors

Relevance . Citizen participation in the administration of justice increases the openness of legal proceedings and the level of citizen confidence in the judicial system. At the same time, the right of the accused to have their criminal case examined by a court with the participation of representatives of the people is ensured. However, the involvement of non-professional judges in considering criminal cases is always associated with several organizational and procedural problems. To prevent and solve such problems in the criminal process of individual states, restrictions may be introduced on the jurisdiction of criminal cases in courts with the participation of representatives of the people, and specific considerations of certain categories of cases may be provided for. Such specific criminal cases include criminal cases against minors. There is an ongoing debate among Russian scientists and practitioners regarding the possibility of a juvenile defendant exercising the right to have their criminal case heard by a court with the participation of a jury. Purpose: disclosure of historical and modern approaches to the participation of citizens as lay judges in criminal cases involving minors. Objective: to reveal historical and modern approaches to the participation of representatives of the people in the consideration of criminal cases; to identify the possibilities and features of consideration of criminal cases against minors by the court with the participation of citizens; justify the feasibility of forming in the Russian criminal process a special system for considering criminal cases with the participation of representatives of the people. Methodology. In the process of working on the study, comparative-legal, formal-legal methods, and general scientific methods of cognition (analysis, synthesis, analogy) were used. Results . There are proposals formulated to adjust doctrinal and normative approaches to the consideration of criminal cases against minors with the participation of lay judges. Conclusion. The existing model of criminal proceedings with the participation of a jury does not consider the specifics of criminal cases against minors. However, expanding opportunities for citizens to participate in the consideration of this particular category of criminal cases is socially significant. A constructive discussion is required regarding the development of a model for considering criminal cases against minors with the involvement of lay judges.