Can President Medvedev Fix the Courts in Russia?

The First Year

Author(s): Peter Solomon
Editor(s): Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 59
Pages: 2-4
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen
Publication Year: 2009

President Dmitry Medvedev's reform of the judicial system does not address the real problems that the courts face. In practice, judges have little scope for independence in controversial or politically important cases because they are beholden to their superiors for promotions and a variety of perquisites. Likewise, there is a longstanding bias in favor of the prosecution. Medvedev's reforms seek to make judges more accountable, limit pretrial detention, and humanize criminal law, but they do not address the fundamental issue of judicial independence by decreasing the power of chairs of courts or increasing judges' sense of professionalism.

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