MOSCOW, December 11 - RAPSI. The Supreme Court has proposed teaching Russian judges how to make legal proceeding transparent, the draft ruling of the court's plenum reads.

According to the draft, the Supreme Court believes it must recommend that the Russian Academy of Justice introduces a special class on transparency in legal proceedings and access to the information on the courts' activities as part of advanced training courses and professional retraining programs for newly appointed judges.

In the document, which is expected to be approved on December 13, the Supreme Court judges have cited a number of provisions and given a number of explanations on the access of attendees and the media to trials, in which cases and how necessary it is to hold hearings behind closed doors, on how and who should grant access to citizens both to trials and to the information and rulings following each hearing.

Indeed, any journalist may attend open hearings, regardless of whether he or she has been accredited. The Supreme Court believes that the presence of journalists at open hearings is a legitimate way to look for and obtain information. Furthermore, journalists are carrying out a public duty in doing this.

However, open hearings cannot be held in premises where there is not sufficient room for attendees or journalists.

In addition, a court must not close a case from the public without sufficient grounds. For instance, the presence of information regarding the private life of one or more of the parties does not serve as an unconditional ground for holding the trial behind closed doors.

Indeed, the court has the right to make personal communication and telephone conversations public if the participants of these trials or these conversations give their consent.