The President of the Russian Federation signed into law the Code for administrative proceedings
On 9 March 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law the Code on administrative proceedings (hereafter referred to as the Code), which will come into force on 15 September 2015. The president took the initiative to adopt the code in his December 2012 annual address to the Federal Assembly. The president instructed the deputies to prepare the draft law, which the president of the State Duma later introduced.
The legislators, in their explanation of the need to enact the separate Code, argued that the Civil Procedural Code, regulating administrative relations, established judicial procedures only for cases arising from private legal relations with equal parties that acquire rights and obligations on their own initiative. In administrative and other public relations, the parties have no equality, therefore, a different procedural law, related to cases involving public legal entities, was necessary.
The Code governs the judicial consideration of administrative cases that involve challenges to regulations (normative legal acts) and decisions, omissions of state bodies, protection of electoral rights, and compensation for breaching the right to a trial or carrying out a judicial act within reasonable period of time. The new Code also regulates the liquidation of political parties, religious bodies, nonprofit groups, and media organizations as well as compulsory psychiatric hospitalization.
The document contains some legal definitions in the field of administrative proceedings: administrative cases, administrative lawsuits, administrative plaintiffs, administrative defendants, and administrative legal standing. Entities without legal person status and individuals limited in their legal capacity in a civil case may have administrative legal standing, under certain circumstances.
For greater objectivity and equal procedural opportunities for citizens and the state, the Code prescribes compulsory participation of a citizen representative. Mandatory representation is introduced for citizens who do not have higher legal education in administrative cases where the citizen is expected to face obstacles in exercising his or her procedural rights and obligations. In particular, this rule is applicable for challenges of regulations before the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the supreme courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
For those involved in a case, the Code provides for the possibility of engaging a proper administrative respondent to act as the second administrative defendant if the plaintiff objects to the replacement of an improper administrative respondent. This procedure for replacing an inadequate respondent is a novelty for Russian procedural law. Article 41, of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, only permits replacing an improper defendant at the request of or with the consent of the plaintiff. It is likely that, in the future, the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation and the Arbitrazh Procedural Code will include such a rule.
Cases involving challenges to decisions or omissions of official, state, and municipal employees must involve the official’s corresponding administrative body. When there is a question regarding succession because of the reorganization or liquidation of a public authority, the Code specifies that the competent public authority will be the one responsible for matters in the same area, based on the finding of the court, or the one that will best to protect any violated rights
The Code also established provisions for accelerating the consideration of cases, the rights of persons involved in a case, the rights of addressing, presenting, and receiving electronic documents, and the right to participate in case through of video conferencing systems.
The Code also outlines provisions for simplified written procedures. These provide for the consideration of an administrative case based solely on written submissions, without any oral proceedings and minutes. This procedure implies rendering a reasoned judgement. It will pertain to complaints before an appellate court.
The text of the Code is available here.
The Russian-language version of this article is here.