In the economy

Why do Russians need an independent court?

May 29, 2017 George Satarov

The time will come, and the Russians will get tired of “getting from knees to karachka”, boast of the imperial past and current lawlessness, will want to adopt the experience of developed countries. Those where they do not pay tribute to officials for the opportunity to engage in entrepreneurship or journalism, where the security forces are not omnipotent, do not “roof” and do not “squeeze” profitable businesses, where taxes collected from the population do not plunder the young generation, and pensioners live dignity. Russia will again ripen along the European path. And what is the main thing in it? The separation of powers, fair and independent from the executive branch and parliament, the court, the equality of citizens before the law.

If for those who live on the “kickbacks” and “cuts” of the budget, the “own” mafia executive branch is more important, then for ordinary citizens, guarantees from the arbitrariness of those in power are primarily important, justice is needed. The court is obliged to guarantee justice, to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens. But the Russians do not believe our court. According to sociologists, three quarters of citizens do not hope to find justice and protection in courts. Our court is characterized by “telephone law”, when the mafia - security officials, investigators and officials dictated to the judge, the verdict or decision connected by the system corruption.

When passers -by are asked: “What is more important in Russia: the law or an indication of the authorities?”, The vast majority replies: the second! Our court, unfortunately, is not an honest economic regulator. Judges often find themselves together in raider seizures of enterprises and eliminate competitors. Remember at least the Magnitsky case.

Our judge is a screw of a punitive machine. The policeman caught the criminal, the investigator revealed circumstances, the prosecutor supported the state prosecution, and the judge punished the accused. A sort of "punitive conveyor." The same thing will happen if riot police capture a protesting citizen at a rally. The judge believes that to punish the one to whom the authorities will indicate is his duty. But the judge must be an independent referee! Non -connected anyone's opinion!

In the trial, the judge, unlike the prosecutor, the interrogator or investigator, should not have the authorities. And he is not entitled to protect the interests of the state. He is obliged to defend only the right, the Constitution. But this is precisely what is not allowed by the current organization of the Russian court, traditions, the composition of pocket obedient judges and the power of judicial bureaucracy.

In the early 1990s, an attempt was made to remake our judicial system following the example of developed countries. The Constitutional Court was established, the life permissions of the judge were introduced, which made it independent. However, these innovations conflict with the interests of the mafia, which constitutes the political elite of our country.

The governors longed to have controlled courts, a large business wanted a “roof” in the person of ministers and governors, he wanted to solve “according to concepts”, and not according to the law. The president needed a controlled court that would have handed the opposition to custom-made sentences. Putin’s initiative in the early 2000s, they had been knocked out by the independent status of judges: the age of resignation was introduced and wide grounds for disciplinary liability were established.

You can attract a judge, for example, for criticizing the supreme judicial power. The members of the judges who decide on the disciplinary liability of the judge are well aware that, refusing the chairman of the court in his “demand to punish the obstacle”, they themselves can fall under the “disciplinary”. In addition, administrative functions in relation to judges were preserved among the chairmen of the courts. They decided to whom to give. And so that the judges do not argue with the judicial authorities, simply introduced a second appointment to the post of judge. Important power - went out!

To have a fair trial in Russia also interferes with mass consciousness. Most have medieval ideas about law and democracy. The Indem Foundation conducted a survey: "Lostrian must have the right to cancel the court decisions, if they are overcome by the interests of the state?" The question is provocative, it contradicts the Constitution, but the majority responded positively. The Russians do not understand the separation of powers! How this American judge can impose a ban on the implementation of the unconstitutional decree of President Trump! How can an Italian prosecutor initiate a case against Prime Minister Berlusconi!

To sue with the authorities, administrative courts are needed

We need a fair criminal court - to punish criminals and justify the innocent. We need a fair civilian court - to decide disputes between citizens. But we really need administrative courts - to resolve the disputes of citizens with authorities!

This is the protection of property rights in the demolition of five -story buildings, this is the abolition of the norms of laws that generate corruption, it is the abolition of requisitions, such as the Plato system, and much more. In other countries, the problem of qualified judges focused on limiting the expansion of the bureaucracy was solved by the creation of special administrative courts. For example, such courts work effectively in Germany.

And in Russia? Such courts are not created. Disputes of citizens with power are considered by ordinary civilian courts. And who works as judges there? A third of the current judicial corps are immigrants from the apparatuses of the courts, 17% are former prosecutors, 16% - yesterday's police. But the former lawyers in the judicial corps are undesirable, an unspoken ban is imposed on their candidates. Most often, the secretaries of the courts, the assistants of judges who have received poor absentee education “without interruption from production” (60% of judges in absentia!) Become judges in Russia.

By the time they receive a diploma, they are executed for the Constitution for 25 years and they have the necessary five years of work experience. The average age of the start of the career of our judge is 31 years old, 57% put on a judge’s mantle of up to 30 years. Low-circuit judges-girls do not want to independently make decisions on the illegal actions of the authorities, they are with her in the same mafia harness. So they ask to give the conclusions of “experts” from the very departments against which citizens are suing. Of course, conclusions are made in favor of power. And judges rewrite them into court decisions.

In the United States, mature people who have great authority in legal circles, as a rule, former lawyers, come to the post of judges. The average age of candidates for judges is 40–45 years.

In the United States, the right of citizens to challenge decisions of the authorities is regulated by federal law. He obliges the court, if reasonably, to declare illegal and cancel any decisions of the department that he will find: arbitrary or inappropriate law; contradicting constitutional rights, powers, privileges; committed in excess of competence or restrictions, without compliance with procedural norms required by law.

But most importantly, the law works in the USA, people apply to court and achieve fair decisions! That's what the real separation of the authorities means! That's what a fair trial means! When will we achieve this in Russia?

Why do we need a jury trial

The sphere of powers of the jury in recent years by the authorities has been significantly narrowed. Of his powers, many important categories of cases are excluded. Why? Because the jury trial is like a sip of justice. This is the field of legal proceedings where in practice the principle of the contesting of the court acts, where the accused can count on objectivity and justice. If evidence of guilt is lacking, then the prosecutor and the judge are usually inclined to the side of the prosecution. In addition, judges can solve cases at the order of the authorities. The jury is not responsible for the success of criminal prosecution, they, as a rule, do not recognize the accused guilty if they have a doubt about the provenness of his guilt.

Since the prosecution prevails in the Russian criminal trial, the share of acquittals is negligible. It is less than one percent, while in tsarist Russia it was about 30%. If you take the percentage of the acquittal to the jury in Russia for the reference point (this is 15%), today in prisons of our country there are hundreds of thousands of citizens whose guilt has not been proven.

The jury feels the vices of the law well, with their decisions they often adjust the wrong law. It is no coincidence that in recent years the power consistently narrowed the sphere of the jury. From his competence, criminal cases of treason, espionage, sabotage, riots, attempts to seize power, all cases related to the state secret have been removed.

The jury is a very effective instrument of justice. He would be useful in cases of economic crimes. The jury may well figure out whether they are trying to condemn a person for a mistake in financial statements, for inexperience or in order to deprive him of business and property. And in civil matters there are categories where such a court would have helped a lot.

Photo: Russia. Moscow. The statue of Themis in the City Court. Photo by ITAR-TASS/ Gennady Khamelyanin