The courts are different: only 26% of criminals were imprisoned in 2025

Citizens' trust in the government directly depends on the quality of judges' work and the fairness of their decisions. Vladimir Putin stated this on February 19 at a meeting of courts of general jurisdiction, as well as military and arbitration courts. The number of pending cases in the country is decreasing: if in 2024 the courts examined 42 million disputes, then in 2025 it was already 34 million. The humanization of legislation had an impact: only a quarter of the convicts were sent to prison, while the rest received alternative punishments. Nevertheless, the workload remains very high, with an average of 490 cases per justice of the peace per month, and staff shortages have become a major challenge for the system. Currently, about 3.5 thousand jobs in this field remain vacant in the country.

The number of pending cases is decreasing

In 2025, Russian courts handled over 34 million cases, which is almost 20% less than in 2024 (42 million). At the same time, out of the total number of those convicted last year, 26% (125 thousand people) were actually sentenced to imprisonment, and alternative punishments were applied to 320 thousand. Against this background, Vladimir Putin drew attention to the importance of humanizing criminal legislation.

— Of course, as it was said in the famous movie, we all remember, "a thief should be in prison." But there are nuances. For some minor offenses, immediately locking a person behind bars is not always justified. Of course, the most important thing — you and I know this well from our university and institute backgrounds — is the most important thing? So that punishment would be inevitable. But the question of what kind of punishment it should be is just your question," the head of state said.

At the same time, the judiciary performs an important function in the life of the country.

— All steps in this direction should work towards strengthening and developing legitimate, effective and accessible justice. You and I know very well that the fates of people, the trust of citizens and society, not only in the judicial system, but also in the government in general, directly depend on the validity and fairness of judicial decisions," the president said.

The main challenge facing the Russian judicial system is a shortage of staff and, as a result, a high workload. Even despite the overall decrease in the number of cases being considered, there are an average of 490 per month for one working justice of the peace. However, the quality of judges' work remains stable — the share of cancelled and amended judicial acts in the country does not exceed 5%, said Chairman of the Supreme Court Igor Krasnov.

About 15% of judges are still missing in the country — more than 3.5 thousand positions remain vacant. Igor Krasnov called it unacceptable when these vacancies "are not filled for several months or even years." Against this background, the head of state supported the initiative to redistribute judicial vacancies to the busiest regions.

In Russia, the appointment of judges has a constitutionally and legally established procedure and depends on the actual availability of qualified candidates. Igor Krasnov's proposal will make it possible to equalize the personnel deficit between the courts and the regions by changing the staffing within the general limit. Legally, this translates into the redistribution of "units" of full-time positions to where the need is higher, without reducing candidate requirements and without circumventing appointment procedures, Elena Grin, associate professor at Moscow State Law University and lecturer at the Russian Society Znanie, told Izvestia.

— With a deficit of about 15%, such a mechanism has the potential to have a tangible effect, primarily in court congestion: to reduce the order of appointment of sessions, reduce the time for consideration and the burden on a particular judge, which means to improve the quality of case preparation and the motivation of judicial acts; however, this is not a universal solution, since it is vacancies that are redistributed, not They instantly increase the number of working judges," she said.

Digitalization of justice and support for ITS fighters

In the era of digitalization, it is necessary to select judges from among the most trained lawyers capable of responding to modern technological challenges, Vladimir Putin said. In 2025, more than 12.5 million electronic appeals were submitted to federal courts of general jurisdiction, and over 17.5 million to arbitration courts. At the same time, AI will never replace a qualified specialist: "court decisions concern the fate of people, and they must be made by humans," the president stressed.

Meanwhile, the technology is actively used by intruders. There are now a growing number of cases where digital currency becomes a means of committing a crime, illegal income, or the subject of criminal encroachment, Putin noted.

— The practice faced by citizens and businesses often does not have a systematic regulatory framework. Life, as they say, is ahead of the law. It always happens that way, and you and I know it well too. The norm is accepted, but life has already moved forward, and many things are already unsettled. This has always been the case, especially during periods of rapid change, and the Supreme Court must respond in a timely manner, form common approaches and explain them to the courts, and actively exercise its right to legislative initiative," he said.,

One of the important tasks remains to strengthen the capacity of ships in Donbas and Novorossiya. The number of cases considered by them last year increased in all types of legal proceedings: by 35% in criminal and civil cases and by 56% in administrative cases.

— Judges working in these territories, as well as in the bordering Belgorod and Kursk regions, work in difficult conditions, sometimes at risk to their lives, and show the best professional and human qualities. And from this rostrum, in your presence, I would like to thank everyone for their dedication to their profession and dedication to their work," the President addressed them.

Work is also underway on the rights of participants in a special military operation and their loved ones. Igor Krasnov announced his intention to develop a unified approach to determining the status of a participant in his organization and uniform standards of state support measures provided to them.

In addition, the Supreme Court of Russia will prepare clarifications on the most difficult issues related to obtaining and using maternity capital. This half-year, the Supreme Court will also provide clarifications on the issues of challenging housing transactions, including those made under the influence of deception. Also, in March, the Supreme Court will update its legal positions on the most important issues of election campaigns before the State Duma elections.