This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/world/europe/merger-of-russias-two-top-courts-worries-legal-experts.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Legislation Merging Russia’s 2 Top Courts Stokes Worries | Legislation Merging Russia’s 2 Top Courts Stokes Worries |
| (7 months later) | |
| MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin on Thursday signed legislation merging Russia’s two top courts in a controversial decision seen by many as meant to consolidate the Kremlin’s power over the country’s judicial system. | |
| The new law is the final step in dismantling the Supreme Arbitration Court, which rules on business disputes, and incorporating it into the Supreme Court, the country’s top criminal and civil judicial body, creating a new “supercourt.” The pending merger has alarmed and surprised businesspeople and legal experts, as the Arbitration Court had been counted as one of the few successful institutions in the often corrupt and ineffective Russian judicial system. Many now fear that the arbitration system will deteriorate. | The new law is the final step in dismantling the Supreme Arbitration Court, which rules on business disputes, and incorporating it into the Supreme Court, the country’s top criminal and civil judicial body, creating a new “supercourt.” The pending merger has alarmed and surprised businesspeople and legal experts, as the Arbitration Court had been counted as one of the few successful institutions in the often corrupt and ineffective Russian judicial system. Many now fear that the arbitration system will deteriorate. |
| “It’s a very destructive decision,” said Ekaterina Mishina, a Russian lawyer and a visiting professor at the University of Michigan. “The approach of the Supreme Court will prevail, which is much more conservative, much more Soviet.” | “It’s a very destructive decision,” said Ekaterina Mishina, a Russian lawyer and a visiting professor at the University of Michigan. “The approach of the Supreme Court will prevail, which is much more conservative, much more Soviet.” |
| The merger is the initiative of Mr. Putin, who has argued that it will streamline Russia’s judicial system and prevent contradictory rulings by the two courts. But when it was announced in June, the measure provoked a mixture of fury and bafflement among most lawyers and judges, who saw no reason for dissolving an institution that functioned more or less to international standards. | The merger is the initiative of Mr. Putin, who has argued that it will streamline Russia’s judicial system and prevent contradictory rulings by the two courts. But when it was announced in June, the measure provoked a mixture of fury and bafflement among most lawyers and judges, who saw no reason for dissolving an institution that functioned more or less to international standards. |
| In November, 80 law firms in Moscow wrote a letter to Mr. Putin objecting to the changes, and several judges from the Arbitration Court have resigned in recent months. The chairman of the court, Anton Ivanov, criticized the bill when it came before Parliament, warning that it could lead to “the complete demolition” of the arbitration system in Russia. Lawmakers ignored those warnings, quickly passing the bill largely unchanged. | In November, 80 law firms in Moscow wrote a letter to Mr. Putin objecting to the changes, and several judges from the Arbitration Court have resigned in recent months. The chairman of the court, Anton Ivanov, criticized the bill when it came before Parliament, warning that it could lead to “the complete demolition” of the arbitration system in Russia. Lawmakers ignored those warnings, quickly passing the bill largely unchanged. |
| Some saw the expedited law as a further sign of the Kremlin’s return to centralized control over crucial public institutions, after a brief relaxation between 2008 and Mr. Putin’s re-election as president in 2012. The legislation signed on Thursday also transfers the right to appoint state prosecutors in the regions to Mr. Putin from the prosecutor general. | Some saw the expedited law as a further sign of the Kremlin’s return to centralized control over crucial public institutions, after a brief relaxation between 2008 and Mr. Putin’s re-election as president in 2012. The legislation signed on Thursday also transfers the right to appoint state prosecutors in the regions to Mr. Putin from the prosecutor general. |
| Russia’s criminal justice system, which the Supreme Court heads, is routinely criticized as susceptible to political pressure, with the cases of the punk activist band Pussy Riot and the oligarch Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky considered significant examples of those in which legal decisions were delivered from the Kremlin. Critics worry that the new court will be more open to such manipulation. And law firms are watching carefully to see who will be appointed to head the new combined court. | Russia’s criminal justice system, which the Supreme Court heads, is routinely criticized as susceptible to political pressure, with the cases of the punk activist band Pussy Riot and the oligarch Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky considered significant examples of those in which legal decisions were delivered from the Kremlin. Critics worry that the new court will be more open to such manipulation. And law firms are watching carefully to see who will be appointed to head the new combined court. |
| “If it’s someone from the Supreme Court, all the achievements of the Arbitration Court will be buried,” said Kirill Belskii, a partner at the firm Koblev & Partners. “It will be completely under the control of the authorities.” | “If it’s someone from the Supreme Court, all the achievements of the Arbitration Court will be buried,” said Kirill Belskii, a partner at the firm Koblev & Partners. “It will be completely under the control of the authorities.” |
| It is not yet clear how the merger will be carried out and whether the court’s daily work will change. A lawyer at the Moscow office of a leading international legal firm said, “We are just hoping everything will stay the same.” | It is not yet clear how the merger will be carried out and whether the court’s daily work will change. A lawyer at the Moscow office of a leading international legal firm said, “We are just hoping everything will stay the same.” |