MOSCOW, August 13 (RAPSI) - Despite the fact that the trust of Russian citizens in their court system has improved over the course of the past two years, more than half still prefer to resolve their disputes out of court, according to an opinion poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), which released the results on Tuesday.

This year saw a 13% increase in people who see legal action as a last resort for the resolution of conflicts. These people would only take matters before the court if they could not be solved by any other means. 43% said that they were unable to competently judge others, and 24% said that they are able to uphold the law and be fair in their decisions.

Those questioned provided a polarizing opinion on Russian judges: some consider them to be men and women of principle, who uphold the law, while others think them corrupt and biased.

More than 51% said they believe that the judges follow the law when making decisions, while 21% believe that verdicts can be decided in advance and subject to outside influence.

The poll was conducted in the late July with some 1,500 people questioned. The margin of error stays within 3.6%