The Court System of Russia

In all legal systems there are institutions for interpreting and applying the law. Justice is administered in the Russian Federation only by courts. The court is a state body where trials take place and legal cases are decided, especially in front of a judge, a jury or a magistrate. The judicial power is self-dependent and acts independently from the legislative and the executive powers.

The Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court are at the top of the Court System of the Russian Federation.

The Constitutional Court of Russia deals with judicial disputes between two or more federal bodies. It practices “constitutional review”. It decides whether federal laws and local laws comply with the federal constitution.

The Supreme Court of Russia is the highest court. It supervises the work of lower courts including military garrison courts, district navy courts. It deals with civil, administrative and criminal cases. The Supreme Court serves as a court of first instance in cases where important interests of the state are at issue. In this case it normally consists of a judge and a jury, but occasionally consists of three judges.

The Supreme Court is also the highest court for settling economic disputes, dealing with rights of ownership, contract changes, loans, bank accounts, and bankruptcy. The Supreme Court supervises federal arbitration courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation, arbitration appellate courts, federal district arbitration courts.

The Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court judges are appointed by the Council of Federation on the recommendation of the President of Russia.

District courts are the basic elements of the system of courts of general jurisdiction. These courts handle most civil, criminal and administrative cases. District courts are courts of first instance but sometimes hear appeals from magistrate courts. As courts of first instance, they deal with criminal cases where imprisonment is more than 3 years.

Magistrate courts handle criminal cases where imprisonment is less than 3 years such as petty hooliganism, public drunkenness, and serious traffic violations of a non-criminal nature, minor civil cases such as simple divorces, some property cases, disputes over land, and some labour cases, as well as some federal administrative law cases.

THE COURT SYSTEM OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Exercise 4. Decide whether these statements are true or false. Correct them.

1. The Constitutional Court of Russia deals with judicial disputes between two or more federal bodies.

2. The Supreme Court decides whether federal laws and local laws comply with the federal constitution.

3. The Supreme Court of Russia is the highest court.

4. The Constitutional Court of Russia supervises the work of lower courts including military garrison courts, district navy courts.

5. The Supreme Court serves as a court of first instance in cases where important interests of the state are at issue.

6. The Supreme Court is the highest court for settling economic disputes.

7. The Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court judges are appointed by the President of Russia on the recommendation of the Council of Federation.

8. District courts are primary appellate courts.

9. District courts are courts of first instance but sometimes hear appeals from magistrate courts.

10. District courts deal with criminal cases where imprisonment is less than 3 years.

11. Magistrate courts sit as both courts of first instance and appellate courts.

12. Magistrate courts handle criminal cases where imprisonment is more than 3 years.

Exercise 5. Read the information on the court cases below and say where they can be heard.

1. Mariya Shapovalova lives in Kemerovo. Her father lived in Ivanovo. On April, 18 in 2012 she got a letter informing her about her father’s death. Mariya couldn’t arrive in Ivanovo right after his death because the flight ticket was unaffordable for her. She did not accept the heirship and now her father’s flat belongs to the municipal authorities of Ivanovo. The plaintiff applies to court to recognize her right to own her father’s property.	A district arbitration court
2. Alexander Sidorenko filed a claim against the private entrepreneur Sergey Lazarev. Alexander demanded redhibition on account of some defect in the mobile phone he bought from Lazarev’s shop. The plaintiff insisted on a refund and award of damages.	An arbitration appellate court
3. Arkhangelsk district court applies to court to verify constitutionality of Article 159.4 of the Criminal Code in respect of S. A. Petrukhin’s case. S. A. Petrukhin is the head of a construction company. He misappropriated 7, 5 million roubles that belonged to his clients. Due to the amendments to the Criminal Code in 2012 Petrukhin’s c ase was reclassified from Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code (fraud) to Article 159.4 (entrepreneurial fraud). As a result his punishment became milder.	The Supreme Court     The Constitutional Court
4. Andrey Ivanov applies to court to reinstate him in his former job at the Federal Drug Control Service in Krasnodar region. He also insists on awarding moral damages and back pay.
5. The Pension Fund of the Russian Federation for Leninsky district in Smolensk City sues Co Ltd “Amix” to recover penalty for out-of-time reporting their employees’ personal information.	A magistrate court
6. Co Ltd “Fun Food” applied to Moscow arbitration court to recover a debt that the joint-stock company “Plastic” owed Co Ltd “Fun Food”. The court satisfied the claim. However, “Plastic” applied to a superior court so that the record of proceedings in Moscow arbitration court could be sent up for review.	A district court

Exercise 6. Speak on the Russian court system. Use the chart at page 27