Although Americans think of jury trials as fundamental to justice, they are by no means universal. They are characteristic of the British and French systems of justice. Jury trials were introduced in Russia in 1864, abolished by the Russian revolution in 1917, and reintroduced in 1993. Many Europeans find it baffling and inappropriate to hand over such an important step in the administration of justice to a panel of non-expert citizens.
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Although Americans think of jury trials as fundamental to justice, they are by no means universal. They are characteristic of the British and French systems of justice. Jury trials were introduced in Russia in 1864, abolished by the Russian revolution in 1917, and reintroduced in 1993. To this day, most first-world nations and democracies have jury systems, and many Westerners find it baffling and inappropriate to hand over such an important step in the administration of justice to a panel of non-expert citizens.
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However, [[Israel]] and [[Singapore]], two highly-developed Western democracies, as well as [[India]] and [[South Africa]], two fairly well-developed democracies, do not have jury trials, though there have been moves at re-establishing the jury system in South Africa.