The Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court ensures that the laws and other normative acts passed or being considered by the supreme and local legislative branches are constitutional.

The jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court is the observance over compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation of federal laws, decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, acts of the Federation Council, of the State Duma, of the Russian Federation Government, Constitutions of Republics of the Russian Federation and a number of other normative legal acts. The Constitutional Court may rule on the legal matters when that is stipulated by the Federal Constitutional Law.

Among persons that may file their claims to the Constitutional Court are the President of the Russian Federation, the State Duma, one-fifth of the members of the Federation Council or deputies of the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the High Arbitrazh Court of the Russian Federation, the bodies of legislative and executive power of the subjects of the Russian Federation, individuals, groups of individuals and legal entities. The named persons may file their claims to the Constitutional Court in case their constitutional rights and freedoms were infringed by a law enforced or to be enforced in a particular legal case.

While filing a personal or joint complaint to the Constitutional Court one should keep in mind the following peculiarities of jurisdiction of this court:

• First, it must be law and not other legal acts that infringes or has infringed rights and freedoms of the plaintiff. Here the law is understood as federal constitutional laws, federal laws, constitutions and statutes of the subjects of the Russian Federation. Normative legal acts of Ministries are appealed against in courts of general jurisdiction.

• Second, it must be constitutional and not other rights and freedoms that are infringed by the law.

• Third, the law appealed against has enforced or is to be enforced in a particular legal case already considered or being considered by a court or other juridical body.

Jurisdiction of the Courts of General Jurisdiction

In particular, individuals and legal entities may defend their rights in courts of general jurisdiction in case these individuals and legal entities are parties to a disputable legal relationship. The following cases are considered in courts of general jurisdiction:

• Cases and claims arising from civil, family, labour relations

• Disputes arising from public legal relations

• Contesting by an individual (a group of individuals) of normative legal acts

• Disputes of public or religious organizations (associations) with bodies of state power or state officials disputes between public and religious organizations

• Cases and claims arising from administrative legal relations

• Cases and claims arising from transportation agreements

The above list may be continued: courts of general jurisdiction may also consider other disputes. Having the largest capacity, the jurisdiction of these courts is determined first of all on the basis of Article 46 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation according to which «each person is guaranteed to have judicial protection of his/her rights and freedoms», while «decisions and actions (inaction) of bodies of state power, of bodies of local self-government, of public organizations or officials of these bodies and organizations may be appealed against in court». Therefore, the scope of issues considered by courts of general jurisdiction may only be determined by the method of exclusion — i.e. courts of general jurisdiction consider all disputes except those that pertain to jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court or of Arbitrazh courts. Still, there is the general criteria for determining what cases are considered by courts of general jurisdiction — that is depending on who are the participants of disputes. The general rule implies that courts of general jurisdiction consider disputes with at least one party — an individual (providing the given dispute is not related to entrepreneurial activity of an individual entrepreneur).