The foundations of the judiciary are laid down in the Constitution of the Russian
Federation. The system comprises for three courts: the Supreme Court of the
Russian Federation, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the
Supreme Arbitration Court. Every court has its own jurisdiction: the Supreme
Court is the highest judicial authority on civil, criminal, administrative and
other matters. The Constitutional Court deals with constitutional matters as
well as resolves issues related to state bodies and subjects of the Russian
Federation. Finally, the Supreme Arbitration Court is the highest body resolving
economic disputes. For a complete description of the jurisdiction of every branch/court
see Chapter
Seven of the Russian Constitution.
Russia has around 14 000 judges in some 2 500 courts of general jurisdiction
on various levels. People's courts handle most of all civil and criminal cases,
following them are oblast, region and province courts. Since 1993 Russia has
been experimenting with jury trials. A jury trial is used only in the case of
a serious crime.
One of the main problems with the current court system are judges' dependency on the executive branch of power and judges' low wages.
See also Legal System of Russia, published by the University of Oregon.