Comprehension check

1. What are the three branches of power of the Russian Government?

2. How is the executive branch represented?

3. What structure represents the legislative branch of power?

4. What is the judicial branch?

5. How is the president elected?

6. What are the functions of the president?

7. What does the Government consist of?

8. What is the role of the Chairman of the Government?

9. How many Houses does the Federal Assembly consist of? What are they?

10. What is the essential feature of modern Russia?

11. What can you say about the Council of the Federation?

12. How many deputies are there in the State Duma?

13. What kind of courts does the judicial system consist of?

14. What is peculiar about the judicial branch of power?

15. What cases does the Constitutional Court dead with?

16. How is the independence of the Constitutional Court Justices ensured?

Judicial system of the russian federation Warming-up questions

1. What kind of court system is there in the Russian Federation?

2. What is the highest judicial body in Russia?

3. What is the Court system of the Russian Federation made of?

The judicial system in Russia is structured according to two basic principles, implying that decisions and sentences which did not come into force can be appealed only once and only at the immediately superior court. Higher courts’ decisions and sentences cannot be appealed or protested. In civil and criminal cases there are courts of primary jurisdiction, courts of appeal and higher courts, which arbitrate lower courts sentences and decisions, already in force.

The judicial system of the Russian Federation is established in keeping with the Constitution (Article 7 “Judiciary Power”) and the Federal Constitutional Law “On the Judicial System of the Russian Federation”, issued on December 31, 1996.

The highest judicial body is the Constitutional Court, composed of 19 judges who are appointed by the President and approved by Council of the Federation. The Constitutional Court’s mandate is to rule on the constitutionality of legislative and executive actions.

Below the Constitutional Court are the Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration

Court. The Supreme Court rules on civil, criminal and administrative law, and the Supreme Arbitration Court handles economic suits.

As with the Constitutional Court judges for these high courts are appointed by the President and approved by the upper house of the legislature. They may only be citizens of the Russian Federation who have reached the age of 25, have a higher juridical education and a record of work in a juridical profession of not less than 5 years. Additional qualification requirements are established for higher courts. Judges are independent and are subject only to the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal legislation. Judges are not replaceable and enjoy immunity. The 1978 Constitution had established life terms for judges but the 1993 Constitution changed appointments of high Court judges to 12-year terms.

Also the Russian judicial system consists of republic supreme courts, okrug courts, regional courts, Moscow and St. Petersburg city courts, district courts and military courts.

98 – 99% of all civil and criminal cases are judged by general courts at the lowest levels, called people’s (district and city) courts. They also judge administrative offences, complaints about unlawfulness and unfounded arrests and implement courts’ decisions concerning property confiscation etc. There are 2,454 public courts in Russia with 13,000 judges. 85 courts of the Russian Federation (region, krai, and republic) with a staff of 2,800 judges constitute the next link of general courts. They judge the most difficult cases, taken on at their own initiative, cases where death sentences may be given. They also regulate the lawfulness and validity of sentences and other public court decisions which did not come into force.