Russian judicial authorities should win citizens’ trust – Medvedev
(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 29, 2013) The problems of the Russian judicial system cannot be resolved by reform, specifically, by uniting courts, the judicial administration should become competitive and win people’s confidence, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.
“I believe this work is very difficult. It is not reduced to the signing of a law or even, for example, uniting the judicial system, which they are talking so much about now. It’s now an issue of people’s attitude to courts, if I may say so,” Medvedev said in an interview with Rossiya 24 television on Saturday.
For decades, disputes were considered by the authorities, not courts in Russia, Medvedev said. Now, the judicial administration “should become competitive, that is, win people’s confidence” with help from the state, he said.
The prime minister said Russian businessmen prefer to go to foreign arbitration courts because they are confident that rulings issued by such courts will be fulfilled.
“If they don’t choose our arbitration, our courts, it means they are not quite sure that the rulings will be fulfilled. That is a common task of not only the authorities and courts, but also businessmen, who should choose our judicial system to make it stronger,” Medvedev said.
Medvedev recalled that a judicial reform was conducted in Russia in the 190s and the judicial legislation has been improved ever since.
“In this case, I believe that our judicial legislation is quite modern. The issue is that the work of some courts raises questions in those who turn to them. It’s not an issue of legislation. It’s an issue of psychological compatibility, authority of courts, the clarity of decisions that are made, legal practice, and, eventually, general confidence in the judicial system,” Medvedev said.
Medvedev said such an atmosphere cannot be created by reforms. “The judicial system has to win the respect of those who appeal to it in the process of its development. In this case, the authority of courts will be the highest,” he said.
The state, in turn, should ensure modern conditions for the functioning of courts, Medvedev said.