The Structure of Russian Courts (Part I)

The present Russian judicial system follows the State’s administrative structure and reflects the complex make-up of the largest country in the world.

The judicial system of the Russian Federation consists of courts at the federal level and regional courts:

COURTS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL

The Constitutional Court

This is the highest judicial body in the Russian Federation. It is made up of 19 judges, proposed by the President of the Russian Federation (Article 127 of the Constitution) and approved by the Federation Council. Since June 2008 the Constitutional Court has been located in St Petersburg.

The Constitutional Court has jurisdiction to interpret the RF Constitution; to decide whether a federal law is consistent with the country’s Constitution; and to adjudicate whether or not laws regulations and normative acts passed by the President of the Russian Federation, the Council of the Federation, the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation, constitutions of republics, charters and other normative acts of the subjects of Russian Federation are consistent with the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 125 of the Constitution);

Courts of General Jurisdiction

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation

This is the supreme judicial body for all courts of general jurisdiction on civil, criminal and administrative matters. As of today the Supreme Court consists of 123 judges. Like the Constitutional Court, judges for the Supreme Court are proposed by the President of the Russian Federation (Article 127 of the Constitution) and approved by the upper house of the legislature, the Federation Council. The Supreme Court is located in Moscow.

It has jurisdiction as a court of cassation, i.e. it is the highest court of appeal in the land. It is a court of supervisory instance (nadzor — supervisory review) over the courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation and over the tier of district courts below that level. There are three chambers in the structure of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation: Judicial Chamber on Civil Cases; Judicial Chamber on Criminal Cases; and Military Chamber.

Its own sphere of jurisdiction covers conflicts between the acts and decrees passed by RF government bodies (ministries, departments etc) and federal legislation; it also hears the most serious criminal cases as court of first instance.

The Plenum of the Supreme Court can issue regulations (postanovleniya). Regulations are a unique element of the machinery for the implementation of domestic law in the Russian legal system. Enacted by the Plenum, they are “explanations on issues of judicial practice”, based on the overview and generalization of the jurisprudence of the lower courts and Supreme (or highest) Courts of subjects of the Federation. Regulations are abstract opinions (not decisions in concrete disputes) but legally binding on all lower courts and they summarize the judicial practice of lower courts and explain how a particular provision of the law shall be applied. These regulations are employed to ensure the consistent application of Russian law by explaining how the law shall be interpreted. Regulations have their legal basis in Article 126 of the RF Constitution.

Military Courts

The basic tier of military courts are the military courts of the armies, fleets, garrisons and military formations. The middle tier of military courts consists of military courts of the branches of the armed forces, the seven Military Districts into which the country is divided, and the districts of anti-aircraft defense, navy and individual armies. They consider disputes involving military personnel. Three-tiered system of the military courts is an integral part of Courts of General Jurisdiction

Arbitration Courts (commercial courts)

Arbitration courts form a system with jurisdiction over commercial disputes that, as a rule, arise between companies and individual entrepreneurs, both Russian and foreign.

1.4. The Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation.

Judges for the Supreme Arbitration Court are proposed by the President of the Russian Federation (Article 127 of the Constitution) and approved by the Federation Council. The court acts both as a court of extra judicial instance (nadzor – supervisory review) and of original jurisdiction.

It exercises original jurisdiction over disputes between the Russian government and commercial parties, the government and subjects of the Russian Federation, or between subjects of the Russian Federation.