This book paints a portrait of the courts of the Russian Federation under Putin. It stresses the dual nature of a judicial system where ordinary cases are handled fairly, but where cases of interest to powerful persons are subject to influence. A must read for those with an interest in Russia's judicial systems.

It is hardly a revelation to say that in the Soviet Union, law served not as the foundation of government but as an instrument of rule, or that the judiciary in that country was highly dependent upon political authority. Yet, experience shows that effective democracies and market economies alike require courts that are independent and trusted. In Courts and Transition in Russia, Solomon and Foglesong analyze the state and operation of the courts in Russia and the in some ways remarkable progress of their reform since the end of Soviet power. Particular attention is paid to the struggles of reformers to develop judicial independence and to extend the jurisdiction of the courts to include constitutional and administrative disputes as well as supervision of pretrial investigations. The authors then outline what can and should be done to make courts in Russia autonomous, powerful, reliable, efficient, accessible and fair. The book draws upon extensive field research in Russia, including the results of a lengthy questionnaire distributed to district court judges throughout Russian Federation.Written in a clear and direct manner, Courts and Transition in Russia should appeal to anyone interested in law, politics, or business in Russia ? scholars and practitioners alike ? as well as to students of comparative law, legal transition, and courts in new democracies.

The authors analyse the state and operation of courts in Russia and the progress of their reform since the end of Soviet power before outlining what can and should be done to make courts in Russia autonomous, powerful, reliable, efficient, accessible and fair.

This book is a detailed treatment of the Russian legal system written especially for English-speaking law students and lawyers. While it is designed primarily as a casebook, extended discussions of the law, numerous citations to original Russian sources, and detailed suggestions for finding these sources on the Internet also make it useful as a reference for scholars specializing in Russian studies and for lawyers who know Russian but not Russian law. The authors have decades of experience following the Russian legal system, with one concentrating on human rights, court procedure, and criminal law and procedure, the other on civil, commercial, and tax law. Chapters cover key aspects of the Russian legal system, including sources of law, the judicial system, the legal profession, constitutional law, individual rights, civil and commercial law, civil procedure, private international law, foreign investment law, criminal procedure, administrative law, and tax law. The book covers major changes in Russian law since the previous edition was published, including more reliance on judicial precedent, increasing the independence of criminal investigators from prosecutors, dealing with abuse of the legal system by corrupt officials to steal businesses from their rightful owners, and closing loopholes in the tax system. The new edition also chronicles the continuing struggle of the European Court of Human Rights and activist Russian lawyers to push Russian law toward international standards.

This addition to the Elements of International Law series explores the role of international law as an integral part of the Russian legal system, with particular reference to the role of international treaties and of generally-recognized principles and norms of international law. Following a discussion of the historical place of treaties in Russian legal history and the sources of the Russian law of treaties, the book strikes new ground in exploring contemporary treaty-making in the Russian Federation by drawing upon sources not believed to have been previously used in Russian or western doctrinal writings. Special attention is devoted to investment protection treaties. The importance of publishing treaties as a condition of their application by Russian courts is explored. For the first time a detailed account is given of the constitutional history of treaty ratification in Russia, the outcome being that present constitutional practice is inconsistent with the drafting history of the relevant constitutional provisions. The volume gives attention to the role of the Russian Supreme Court in developing treaty practice through the issuance of "guiding documents" binding on lower courts, the reaction of the Russian Constitutional Court to judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, and the place of treaties as an integral part of the Russian legal system. Butler further explores the hierarchy of sources of law, together with other facets of Russian arbitral and judicial practice with respect to treaties and other sources of international law. He concludes with a consideration of the 'generally-recognized principles and norms of international law' and their role as part of the Russian system.

This book addresses the increased role and standing of international law in the Russian legal system through analysis of judicial practice since the adoption of the Russian Constitution in 1993. The issue of interaction and hierarchy between international and domestic law within the Russian Federation is studied, combining theoretical, legal and institutional elements. Sergey Marochkin explores how methods for incorporating and implementing international law (or reasons for failing to do so) have changed over time, influenced by internal and global policy. The final sections of the book are the most illustrative, examining how 'the rule of law’ remains subordinate to ‘the rule of politics’, both at the domestic and global level.

Everyday Law in Russia challenges the prevailing common wisdom that Russians cannot rely on their law and that Russian courts are hopelessly politicized and corrupt. While acknowledging the persistence of verdicts dictated by the Kremlin in politically charged cases, Kathryn Hendley explores how ordinary Russian citizens experience law. Relying on her own extensive observational research in Russia’s new justice-of-the-peace courts as well as her analysis of a series of focus groups, she documents Russians’ complicated attitudes regarding law. The same Russian citizen who might shy away from taking a dispute with a state agency or powerful individual to court might be willing to sue her insurance company if it refuses to compensate her for damages following an auto accident. Hendley finds that Russian judges pay close attention to the law in mundane disputes, which account for the vast majority of the cases brought to the Russian courts. Any reluctance on the part of ordinary Russian citizens to use the courts is driven primarily by their fear of the time and cost—measured in both financial and emotional terms—of the judicial process. Like their American counterparts, Russians grow more willing to pursue disputes as the social distance between them and their opponents increases; Russians are loath to sue friends and neighbors, but are less reluctant when it comes to strangers or acquaintances. Hendley concludes that the "rule of law" rubric is ill suited to Russia and other authoritarian polities where law matters most—but not all—of the time.