As the Court of the First Instance

 

The Federal Arbitrazh Circuit Court is the first instance court for the following cases:

• Cases on disputing normative legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation and federal executive bodies, concerning rights and legitimate interests of an applicant in the area of business and other economic activities.

 

• Cases on disputing non-normative legal acts of the President of the Russian Federation, the Federation Council and the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, and of the Government of the Russian Federation, which do not comply with the laws and concern rights and legitimate interests of an applicant in the area of business and other economic activities.

 

• Economic disputes between the Russian Federation and the subjects of the Russian Federation, and between the subjects of the Russian Federation.

 

The Arbitrazh Court of the Subject of the Russian Federation

 

The Arbitrazh courts of the initial level, unlike courts of general jurisdiction, are not district courts but courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation. According to the general rule, these courts are deemed to be courts of the first instance in consideration of economic disputes.

The Arbitrazh court of the Subject of the Russian Federation is a state court specializing in commercial cases and extends its jurisdiction to any cases on commercial disputes and to other cases, concerning the exercise of business and other commercial activities, where both parties are business entities or individuals, engaged in business activities without forming a legal entity and having the status of an individual entrepreneur obtained in the procedure established by laws. In this particular case it does not matter what kind of legal relations serve as the basis for dispute arisen: civil, administrative or other relations. Cases between the Russian Federation, the subjects of the Russian Federation are subject to the jurisdiction of the Arbitrazh court as well. The Arbitrazh courts do not consider disputes that pertain to the criminal sphere of legislation.

How cases are tried in courts

In all courts cases are tried in public. The participants in the trial (the prosecutor, the lawyers, the plaintiff, the judge, the defendant and the others) speak in the open court. The accused is guaranteed the right to defend. The press has the right to be present.

During the hearing of a case any citizen may enter the courtroom and be present during the trial from the beginning to the end. The hearing of cases in closed session is allowed only in exceptional cases. Closed sessions are only allowed if it is in the interests of both sides or for the necessity to keep state secrets. Trial without participation of both sides is not allowed. The judges are independent and they must obey the law.

 

Vocabulary

accused n 1 обвиняемый (в преступлении); 2 подсудимый

assessor n заседатель

claimant n истец; сторона, заявляющая требование

closed session n закрытое заседание

deem v полагать, считать

defendant n 1 ответчик; 2 обвиняемый; 3 подсудимый

discretion n усмотрение

initial level n начальный уровень

legitimate interest n законный интерес

obey the law v подчиняться закону

participant n участник

plaintiff n истец

prosecutor n обвинитель

summarize v суммировать; резюмировать

try v 1 судить; 2 рассматривать (дело)

with regard to касательно; в отношении

Reading tasks

A Answer these questions.

1 What courts of the subjects of the RF can you name?

2 What are their functions?

3 What cases are considered by the courts of the criminal jurisdiction?

4 What cases are considered by the Municipal Courts?

5 What court hears appeals from the Municipal Court?

6 How can you characterize the jurisdiction of the Specialized Military Courts?

7 What are the particularities in the jurisdiction of the Specialized Military Courts?

8 Where can the decisions of the Military Judge be appealed?

9 What are the elements of the Arbitrazh Court System of the Russian Federation?

10 What are the Arbitrazh courts competent to do?

11 What cases do the Arbitrazh courts of the subjects of the RF specialize in?

12 How are cases tried in courts?

13 Who are the participants in the trial?

14 When are closed sessions allowed?

 

Comprehension check

B Say if it is true (T) or false (F).

1 The territory of the Russian Federation is divided into 70 circuits.

2 The municipal courts are courts of the first instance.

3 The Municipal Judge cannot hear the case alone.

4 The decision of the Municipal Judge can be appealed to the court of the subject of the RF.

5 The Specialized Military Courts jurisdiction is different from the jurisdiction of the Municipal courts.

6 The Arbitrazh courts settle economic disputes.

7 The Arbitrazh courts do not consider disputes that pertain to the criminal sphere of legislation.

8 In all courts cases are tried in closed session.

9 Judges are dependent and subordinated to the President.

Language focus

There is one mistake in each of the following sentences. Find and correct it.

One of the reasons that arbitration is frequently preferable to litigation is that the dispute can be submit to an expert for decision. Architects can be used decide disputes about construction.

This use of experts are especially important in labor-management relations. Arbitration is the technique use in collective-bargaining contracts to settle grievances of employees against their employers. Arbitration is able to resolved disputes arising out of labour contracts without resorting to judicial intervention. It is quick and efficient and minimize disruption in the workplace. Labour arbitration has attract a large number of experts – both lawyers and academicians.

Arbitration provide for decision making by experts with experience in the particular industry and with knowledge of the customs and practices of the particular work site.

Vocabulary tasks

A Match the following English terms with their Russian equivalents.

	circuit	a	государственная тайна
	district court	b	зал заседаний суда
	criminal jurisdiction	c	экономическая деятельность
	powers	d	судебный округ
	contract law	e	самостоятельный предприниматель
	economic activity	f	полномочия
	individual entrepreneur	g	договорное право
	courtroom	h	уголовная юрисдикция
	state secrets	i	районный суд

 

В Match the two parts to form sentences.

	All claims addressed to a debtor are considered by	a	the highest bodies in such courts.
	Individuals are entitled to file a constitutional claim on	b	connected with the state secret.
	The parties may determine a court’s jurisdiction	c	immediately after holding.
	The Supreme Courts are the first instance courts for the cases	d	as a supervising body.
	The Rulings of the court of the subjects of the Russian Federation come into force	e	a court at the location of the debtor.
	Presidiums of the courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation are	f	infringement of their constitutional rights.
	Presidiums of courts of this level act	g	upon their mutual consent.

C Complete the following text with the words and phrases from the box.

	evaluate legislation function commercial disputes activities legal system examine significance implementation body influence