MOSCOW. April 10 (Interfax) - The Russian Supreme Court has suggested psychological and polygraph tests for judge position applicants.

A pilot project to that effect has been completed in the Kursk region, General Director of the Supreme Court's Court Department Alexander Gusev said in an interview with the newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

Gusev said they had developed methods of a comprehensive psychological analysis, which made it possible to learn why a person wanted to be a judge.

"The pilot project in the Kursk region was successful, but laws must be changed to hold similar projects elsewhere. I think psychological tests will be sufficient so far. We think that such tests must be taken by all the persons, who wish to become judges," Gusev said.

Meanwhile, judges who hear criminal cases live under serious stress, he said. "Psychologists have developed special rehabilitation programs, while candidates for criminal court judges will be tested for their ability to resist stress," he said.

The proposals will be discussed at the upcoming congress of Russian judges, Gusev said.