Description of the System of Law

The Russian legal system is a continental legal system where statutory law is generally more important than judicial precedents. In resolving cases, judges interpret legislation rather than search for a close match in prior jurisprudence, with notable exceptions being the case law of the Russian Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, which provide important guidance and are followed by Russian judiciary.

Most legislation is quite recent. It has been developed in the post-Soviet period, after the solution of the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, and in the course of proliferation of economic and political reforms. Comparative law methods were an important instrument in developing a body of new law. For this reason, various legal instruments have been derived from laws of different countries. For instance, securities law was significantly influence by the US model, whereas the RF Civil Code is close to the European tradition, while bankruptcy law is based upon German statute.

The distinction between public and private law has now received official recognition. Russia has taken a step back from practices of administrative governance. The following general principles are declared to be the basis of the Russian legal system, enacted in the Constitution and various other legislative acts: democracy and separation of powers, rule of law, transparency, recognition of universal rights and freedoms, rejection of retroactive (ex post facto) law, legal equality, due process, and freedom of contracts.

The application of law is frequently formalistic in Russia. Russian jurisprudence pays attention to the from far more often than to the substance. Liberal interpretation of contracts is the leading principle. Compliance with strict formal requirements (seals, notary certification, and state registration) is a condition for validity of many transactions, particularly those related to real property. Usually, when recourse is made to the law, it receives a very strict and mechanical interpretation. A new trend is emerging, however: recently the courts, particularly commercial courts, started going beyond the literal meaning of the words of statutes. In some published decisions, one might find policy analysis utilized as the leading decision-making method.

Answer the questions:

1. Do Russia and the USA have much in common in their state systems?

2. Is there a division of powers in Russia?

3. What is the structure of the Russian Parliament?

4. What is the procedure of adopting laws in the Russian Parliament?

5. How does the American executive branch differ from the Russian executive branch?

Discussion points:

1. What state systems exist in the world nowadays?

2. What are the powers of the monarch, the president, the prime minister?

3. What division of powers is most typical for democratic states? Describe different branches of power and their main functions.

4. How are the Russian legislative and executive branches of power organized?

5. Does the practice of the Russian parliament differ from that in Great Britain and the US?

6. How are bills made into laws in the Russian Parliament?