Judges from the professional quota are voting today to choose members of the new Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

The meeting started an hour late. The first check showed that 464 of the 2,275 judges entitled to take part had registered.

Galina Zakharova, president of the Supreme Court of Cassation, spoke to reporters before the meeting and called on judges to vote in large numbers. "I expect a big turnout in this vote, because it is the only way to change the state of the system," she said.

Zakharova said the judicial system is in deep crisis and there is one way out: voting and a clearly stated will. Past meetings have never come close to the required quorum and usually go ahead with fewer people present. She said this should not affect the vote, because judges, whether in the hall or outside it, share the same goals and the same wish for change.

That wish for change also explains why so many candidates have come forward from the professional quota. Zakharova said the number of candidates and the activity of judges show the judicial community is not apathetic or hopeless.

"I think that when choosing, all colleagues need to look closely at deeds, not fine phrases," she added.

Parliament also has its own quota on the SJC, which has yet to be chosen. Asked what would happen if MPs fail to choose their representatives, Zakharova declined to guess in advance, but said such an outcome would deepen the crisis.

Follow-up: Judges to elect SJC members with two chairs at the assembly