Russian Court Hierarchy: Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, and the 2019 Cassation Reform

The Russian court system is a three-branch structure comprising the Constitutional Court, the courts of general jurisdiction (including military courts), and the arbitration courts. The system was significantly reorganised by the 2014 merger of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration Court and by the 2018–2019 reform that created a system of independent cassation and appellate courts. Understanding the court hierarchy is essential for navigating Russian litigation.

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation

The Constitutional Court (Konstitutsionny Sud Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the highest judicial body for constitutional review. Established in 1991 and reconstituted under the 1993 Constitution, the Court consists of 11 judges (increased from 19 in the 2020 amendments). Judges are appointed by the Federation Council on the nomination of the President. The Court reviews the constitutionality of federal laws, normative acts of the President and the Government, constitutions and laws of federal subjects, and international treaties prior to their ratification. The Court may also handle disputes over the division of competence between federal and regional authorities. Since the 2020 amendments, the Court has the power to review the constitutionality of federal laws at the request of the President before their signature — a procedure known as preventive constitutional review (preventivny konstitutsionny kontrol). The Court also reviews the constitutionality of international court decisions (including those of the ECtHR) that affect Russia’s constitutional obligations. Decisions of the Constitutional Court are final and not subject to appeal.

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation

The Supreme Court (Verkhovny Sud Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the highest judicial body for civil, criminal, administrative, and economic matters. Since the 2014 merger with the Supreme Arbitration Court, the Supreme Court exercises judicial supervision over both the courts of general jurisdiction and the arbitration courts. The Supreme Court consists of the Plenum (the full court), the Presidium, the Cassation Collegium, the Judicial Collegium for Economic Disputes, the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases, the Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases, the Judicial Collegium for Administrative Cases, and the Judicial Collegium for Military Cases. The Plenum issues guiding interpretations (postanovleniya Plenuma) on questions of judicial practice, which, while not formally binding, are followed by lower courts. The Presidium reviews cases by way of supervisory review (nadzor), the highest instance for final court decisions. The Judicial Collegia hear appeals against decisions of cassation and appellate courts in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

The 2019 Cassation and Appellate Reform

The 2018–2019 judicial reform created a system of independent cassation and appellate courts, separate from the regional courts that previously exercised both first-instance and appellate functions. The reform established nine cassation courts of general jurisdiction (kassatsionnyye sudy obshchey yurisdiktsii) and five appellate courts of general jurisdiction (apellyatsionnyye sudy obshchey yurisdiktsii). Each cassation court has jurisdiction over several federal subjects, ensuring that cassation review is conducted by a court outside the jurisdiction of the first-instance court. The appellate courts hear appeals against decisions of regional courts as courts of first instance. The reform aims to increase the independence and impartiality of appellate and cassation review by detaching these functions from the regional court systems. The arbitration court system had already implemented a similar structure earlier, with independent arbitration appellate courts and arbitration cassation circuits (cassation courts).

District Courts and Justices of the Peace

The lower tier of the courts of general jurisdiction consists of district courts (rayonnyye sudy) and justices of the peace (mirovyye sudi). Justices of the peace are the first instance for minor civil, criminal, and administrative cases. They hear cases involving claims of up to 50,000 rubles, criminal cases with a maximum punishment of up to three years’ imprisonment, and minor administrative offences. Decisions of justices of the peace may be appealed to the district court. District courts are the primary first-instance courts for most civil and criminal cases. They hear civil cases not within the jurisdiction of justices of the peace, criminal cases with punishment exceeding three years, and cases within their jurisdiction under the procedural codes. District court decisions may be appealed to the regional court (sud subyekta Rossiyskoy Federatsii) and further to the cassation courts.

Arbitration Courts

The arbitration courts (arbitrazhnyye sudy) have jurisdiction over economic disputes involving legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, as well as certain categories of disputes involving citizens (insolvency, corporate disputes). The system comprises arbitration courts of the federal subjects (first instance), arbitration appellate courts (20 courts), arbitration cassation courts (10 district courts), and the Judicial Collegium for Economic Disputes of the Supreme Court. The arbitration courts are governed by the Arbitration Procedure Code (APK RF). The arbitration court system was developed in the 1990s as the commercial court system distinct from the courts of general jurisdiction. The 2014 merger placed the Supreme Arbitration Court within the Supreme Court but preserved the arbitration courts as a separate track, maintaining the bifurcated structure of Russian litigation.

Military Courts

Military courts (voyennyye sudy) are part of the system of courts of general jurisdiction, with jurisdiction over cases involving military personnel and cases arising from military service. The military court system comprises garrison military courts (first instance), district (naval) military courts (appellate and cassation), and the Judicial Collegium for Military Cases of the Supreme Court. Military courts also hear certain civil and administrative cases involving military personnel and cases concerning crimes committed by military personnel.

Judicial Status and Independence

Judges in Russia are appointed by the President for courts of general jurisdiction and arbitration courts, and by the Federation Council for the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. Judges are irremovable — they may be dismissed only by decision of a judicial qualification collegium (kvalifikatsionnaya kollegiya sudey) on grounds established by law. Judges enjoy immunity from criminal and administrative prosecution except in cases established by federal law. The 2020 constitutional amendments strengthened the President’s role in judicial appointments and dismissals, allowing the President to dismiss Constitutional Court and Supreme Court judges without the consent of the Federation Council in certain circumstances. The judicial qualification collegia and the Council of Judges (Sovet sudey RF) are the bodies of judicial self-governance, responsible for the selection, evaluation, and discipline of judges.

Significance

The Russian court hierarchy provides a comprehensive and formally structured system for the adjudication of legal disputes. The bifurcated structure of general jurisdiction courts and arbitration courts reflects the specialised nature of economic disputes. The 2019 cassation reform addressed long-standing concerns about the independence of appellate review by creating separate courts independent of regional court systems. Despite these structural improvements, the Russian court system faces continuing challenges related to judicial independence, the influence of the executive branch on judicial decision-making, and the limited effectiveness of judicial remedies in politically sensitive cases. The formal hierarchy of courts provides the framework within which Russian litigation proceeds, and understanding this hierarchy is essential for effective legal practice in Russia.