Judiciary of Russia

And although there are many officers of the court, including jurors, the Prosecutor General remains the most powerful component of the Russian judicial system.

In general, the court hears cases referred by the President, the Federation Council, the State Duma, one-fifth of the members of either chamber of the Federal Assembly, the Government, the Supreme Court, or other bodies of legislative or executive authority.

The members of the Academic Consultative Council are elected at plenary sessions of the Supreme Court.

As courts of first instance, they handle criminal cases where imprisonment is for more than 3 years, and consist of 1 judge and a jury where required.

[14][11] Arbitration courts (арбитражный суд; also called arbitrazh or commercial courts) hear cases dealing with a wide matter of contractual issues, such as rights of ownership, contract changes, performance of obligations, loans, bank accounts, and insolvency (bankruptcy) of juridical persons[15] and natural persons.

The court president is solely responsible for the allocation of cases to judges, has considerable powers in the matters of appointment, and makes the initial recommendation for disciplinary measures, in particular dismissal.

[1] The also must have served as a lawyer for at least 15 years and have a "recognized high qualification" (quotation from Constitutional Court Act) in law.

A candidate for the position of the district court judge must be at least 25 years old, be expected to have received a higher legal education (commonly a specialist degree), have at least 5 years of experience in the legal profession, and pass an examination from the Ministry of Justice.

[26] The resignation of the Prosecutor General before the end of his term should be approved by both a majority of Federation Council and the President.

There are 5 law-enforcement authorities where persons conducting an initial inquiry (Дознаватель [ru]) serve, in Russia: In Russia, anyone with a legal education (lawyer) can practice law, but only a member of the Advokatura (Адвокатура) may practice before a criminal court (other person can be a defence counsel in criminal proceeding along with a member of Advokatura but not in lieu him)[27] and Constitutional Court (leaving aside persons having academic degree of candidate or doctor in juridical sciences who also can represent parties in constitutional proceeding).

An examination is administered by the qualifications commission of regional advocate's chamber for admission to its Advokatura.

As part of the oral exam, the candidate must demonstrate his knowledge in various bodies of law and solve some mimic a real-life legal tasks.

An advocate can not work under an employment (labour) contract, with the exception of scientific and teaching activities.

An advocate may be a shareholder/owner of business juridical persons and a member of voluntary associations and political parties.

[12] The right to a jury trial is provided by Constitution of Russia but for criminal cases only and in the procedure defined by law.

In 2008, the anti-state criminal cases (treason, espionage, armed rebellion, sabotage, mass riot, creating an illegal paramilitary group, forcible seizure of power, terrorism) were removed from the jurisdiction of the jury trial.

If they come to relatively consistent decisions, those in civil law legal systems call this jurisprudence constante.

[47] The accused have the right to a defense lawyer from the time they are detained, put in custody, charged, or declared a suspect.

[47][48] According to the 2001 Code of Criminal Procedure, defense lawyers can participate in investigations with the consent of the prosecutor, meet privately with a client, collect evidence independently of the prosecutor, identify defense witnesses, present expert witnesses, be present for all court procedures, access to the prosecutions evidence after the investigation, and to file appeals regarding court procedures.

[12] The crimes that may be tried by a jury are murder, kidnapping, rape with aggravating circumstances, child trafficking, gangsterism, large-scale bribery, treason, terrorism, public calls for violent change in the constitutional system or for the seizure of power, and select other crimes against the state.

[15] However, Transparency International found that 78% of respondents reported they did not expect to find justice in the courts.

[50] Both public perception and comments from senior judges point to bribery as prevalent at the trial court level.

[46] Constitutional Court Judge and Council of Judges member Vladimir Yaroslavtsev, in a 2009 interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, claimed that the presidential executive office and security services had undermined judicial independence in Russia.

[55] Lawmakers are continuously chipping away at what types of criminal offenses merit a jury trial.

[55] Compared to other industrialized nations, Russia has historically had a small number of lawyers in relation to its population.

[22] There have been allegations of corruption concerning the oral exam required for admission to the Advokatura,[23] known as being "called to the bar" in commonwealth countries.

One significant event concerning this topic was the International conference - First Siberian Legal Forum "Specialization of judges and courts: International experience and Russian perspective", held in the city of Tyumen (October 17–18, 2014) and organized by the Tyumen State University and Dmitry Maleshin[59] Trial by jury was first introduced in the Russian Empire as a result of the Judicial reform of Alexander II in 1864, and abolished after the October Revolution in 1917.

[61] After a 1958 reform they were elected for 2 years at general meetings of colleagues at their place of work or residence, or at higher levels appointed by the soviet.

[18] Constitutional Court Judge and Council of Judges member Vladimir Yaroslavtsev, in a 2009 interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, claimed that the presidential executive office and security services had undermined judicial independence in Russia.

[54] In October the Constitutional Court in an unprecedented motion accused Yaroslavtsev of "undermining the authority of the judiciary" in violation of the judicial code, and Yaroslavtsev eventually resigned from the Council of Judges but remained a judge; Kononov resigned from the Constitutional Court on 1 January 2010, seven years ahead of schedule.