In November 2025, the Chairman of the Supreme Court said that he had already instructed to accelerate the implementation of artificial intelligence technologies in the work of Russian courts. In his opinion, neural networks can be used to analyze judicial practice, identify contradictions and shortcomings of legal regulation in it.
In November 2025, the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Russia, Igor Krasnov, instructed to accelerate the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into the work of courts, TASS reports.
"I have already given instructions to accelerate the implementation of AI technologies in judicial activities," Igor Krasnov said. The head of the Supreme Court also noted that technology should help to effectively analyze judicial practice in order to identify contradictions and shortcomings of legal regulation. At the same time, he stressed that neural networks will never replace a judge, because the decision, especially regarding human destinies, should always remain with a person.
Speaking about modern technologies, Mr. Krasnov noted that new digital and information technologies (IT), such as blockchain, smart contracts and virtual assets, are increasingly becoming the subject of litigation, the results of which form the basis for future regulatory regulation. He stressed that this is a natural process, since law develops under the influence of judicial practice: it is in court decisions that legal norms receive specific content, becoming the basis of law and order and the standard of justice.
In an interview with TASS, Krasnov also said that one of the urgent problems of the Russian judicial system remains the insufficient level of unity of law enforcement. According to him, courts often use contradictory or directly opposite approaches when considering cases, which leads to numerous revisions of acts and undermines respect for the judiciary.
The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body for civil cases, the settlement of economic disputes, criminal, administrative and other cases under the jurisdiction of courts of general jurisdiction and arbitration courts established in accordance with the federal constitutional law and exercising judicial power through civil, arbitration, administrative and criminal proceedings. The Supreme Court exercises judicial supervision over the activities of courts of general jurisdiction and arbitration courts in accordance with the procedural forms provided for by federal law and provides explanations on issues of judicial practice.
Igor Krasnov became Chairman of the Supreme Court of Russia in September 2025, before that he headed the Prosecutor General's Office (Prosecutor General's Office). He was the only contender for the vacant post of Chairman of the Supreme Court, which opened after his death in July 2025. By Irina Podnosova. She died after a serious illness at the age of 71. Also, on September 24, 2025, Prosecutor General Alexander Gutsan officially took office. Both candidates were supported by the Federation Council (Federation Council) when the autumn session started in the upper house of parliament.
The media, citing sources, reported that Krasnov passed the qualification exam for judges perfectly. For the first time since 1948, the Supreme Court of Russia was headed by a prosecutor. On September 5, Krasnov said that he would continue to support socially oriented businesses even after his appointment to a new post, but companies must be conscientious.
The suspects called Igor Krasnov one of the toughest figures in the Russian power bloc, and the lawyers of the injured party called him a professional and an excellent specialist who independently took all the steps up the career ladder. According to media reports, under Igor Krasnov, disagreements arose between the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor's Office on confiscation claims, in particular, the seizure of corrupt officials' property to the state in 2024.
In October 2025, Igor Krasnov, Chairman of the Supreme Court of Russia, set the task of actively introducing AI into the work of courts. "AI—based analytical software systems are a promising direction in the development of the judicial system. We will actively introduce them into the work of the courts, identify contradictions in judicial practice faster and respond to them," Krasnov said.
The Chairman of the Supreme Court named ensuring the independence of judges and the impartiality of judicial proceedings as one of the priorities. "A judge should remember the oath he took, and not focus on governors, authorized representatives and federal inspectors. Neither they, nor state corporations, nor representatives of the judicial department and bodies of the judicial community should influence judges. In his decisions, a judge should rely solely on the law and practice of the Supreme Court of Russia," he added.
Krasnov said that the burden on judges is one of the most acute problems of the judicial system. "On my instructions, an analysis of the workload of the courts has been carried out, and regions have been identified that have been operating at maximum capacity since 2022. In this regard, vacant positions in the country's courts will be redistributed within the statutory staffing levels," he said. In September 2025, answering questions from senators when considering his candidacy for appointment to the post of Chairman of the Supreme Court, Krasnov stated that the introduction of artificial intelligence into the work of courts would reduce the burden on judges and increase access to justice.
In April 2025, the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of Russia published data on the work of federal courts of general jurisdiction and magistrates for 2024. During this period, the courts of first instance received 651.3 thousand criminal cases, which is a record low number. In 2023, there were 720.6 thousand of them, and in 2015 — as many as 966.4 thousand, thus, the figure fell by 32.6% over ten years.
A similar trend is demonstrated by another important figure, the number of accused persons whose criminal cases have been referred to the court of first instance. This indicator overlaps with the previous one, but is not equal to it — for example, when several people are involved in one criminal case. In 2024, cases against 693.4 thousand people were transferred to the courts, 9.9% less than in 2023, and 34% less than in 2015.
In 2024, the courts of general jurisdiction ruled on 659.8 thousand criminal cases against 679.4 thousand people. In 2023, 727.2 thousand cases against 750.7 thousand people were completed, and ten years ago — 962.5 thousand cases against 1.03 million people.
78.69% of the defendants were convicted (in 2015, this figure was 74.06%). Another 0.26% of the defendants, 1,798 people, were acquitted (ten years ago, 0.42% were acquitted).
In 2024, the courts dismissed the cases of 18.28% of the accused (in 2015 — 23.52%), 1.58% of the defendants had their cases returned to the prosecutor's office (in 2015 — 0.83%). For 1.19% of the accused, the courts applied compulsory medical measures (this indicator has hardly changed — in 2015 it was 1.17%).
In 2024, jury trials reviewed 1,219 cases and issued 290 acquittals, which is almost one in four cases. On appeal, 189 of the 290 acquittals and 63 of the 819 guilty verdicts were overturned.
