Chronicle

of international ties of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation

2020

20 – 24 February

An international conference titled “Judiciary and the Changing World” took place in New Delhi, India. First Deputy Chief Justice Pyotr Serkov represented the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation at the event.

With representatives of top courts from more than 50 countries in attendance, the conference was dedicated to a broad range of topics, including cooperation among the world’s judiciaries, development trends in the administration of justice, challenges in court supervision.

24 – 28 February

Victor Momotov, President of the Council of Judges of the Russian Federation, Justice and Secretary of the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, participated in a High-Level Meeting of the Global Judicial Integrity Network supported by the UNODC, which took place in Doha, Qatar.

The event participants discussed the results of the Network’s activities in 2018 – 2019, possible future challenges in the sphere of judicial integrity, as well as the measures taken by national judiciaries in this regard.

10 July

The European Court of Human Rights initiated a series of webinars dedicated to the procedural and substantive aspects of application of the European Convention, in particular in the context of the spread of COVID-19. The first webinar was dedicated to the potential impact of the pandemic on the right to fair trial.

Justice Victor Momotov took part in the event with a contribution titled “Russian Experience of Adapting the Justice System to the COVID-19 Pandemic”.

8 September

BRICS Chief Justices Forum was held via videoconference.

The key event participants included the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation V.M. Lebedev, the Chief Justice and President of the Federal Supreme Court of the Federative Republic of Brazil J.A. Dias Toffoli, the Chief Justice of the Republic of India S.A. Bobde, the Chief Justice and President of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China Zhou Qiang and Justice of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of South Africa Sisi Khampepe.

The senior justices discussed the protection of economic interests of the market players through administrative judicial proceedings. Special attention was paid to the issues of consumer rights protection in the modern economic environment shaped by the pandemic.

In conclusion, a Joint Statement was adopted, stressing the importance of development and broader use of modern digital technologies by the courts, as well as of proper and timely protection of citizens’ rights.

21 October

Vyacheslav Lebedev, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, had an in-person meeting with Christos Giakoumopoulos, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe, during which the issues of interaction between the Russian Supreme Court and the Council of Europe in the legal sphere were discussed.

30 October

Chief Justice Lebedev took part in the 15^th Conference of Chief Justices of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, held via videoconference.

The work of the judiciary during the pandemic was one of the key topics. The Chief Justice provided a detailed report about the features of administration of justice in Russia within the framework of the corresponding measures, as well as the steps taken to improve judicial proceedings.

A Joint Statement was adopted in conclusion of the Conference.

13 November

Chief Justice Lebedev spoke during the Opening Ceremony of China Forum on International Legal Cooperation, organized via video. In his speech, the Chief Justice noted the measures taken to ensure access to justice and protect the citizens’ health, taken by the Russian courts during the pandemic.

25 November

The 14^th session of the Council of Presidents of Superior State Arbitration Courts, Commercial, Economic and Other Courts Resolving Disputes within the Sphere of the Economy in the Commonwealth of Independent States, took place via videoconference under the presidency of Chief Justice Lebedev.

The session was attended by delegations of the CIS Executive Committee, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Court of Cassation of the Republic of Armenia.

The main topics discussed at the session were the reorganization of the council into the Council of Supreme (Superior) Courts of the CIS, as well as the draft agreement on establishment of the new council. The participants believe that implementing this decision will make the exchange of experience among CIS member countries regarding the modernisation of civil, administrative, commercial and criminal procedure more effective, and will serve the further strengthening of cooperation in the judicial sphere.

25 – 27 November

The Third International Conference of the Court of the Eurasian Economic Union, “New Challenges of EEU Integration: Legal Dimension” took place. Representatives of the Eurasian Economic Commission, judicial bodies from EEU member countries, other bodies and organisations spoke at the event.

The agenda included such issues as legal aspects of EEU’s Development Strategy to 2025, procedural aspects of activities of the EEU Court, main challenges and trends in international justice, protection of competition and anti-monopoly regulation.

Chief Justice Lebedev addressed the conference participants with a video welcome message.

30 November, 7 December

The Conference of Chief Justices of Central and Eastern Europe took place via video.

The event allowed the participants to exchange opinions on a number of current topics, including the measures aimed at supporting the due functioning of the court system during the pandemic.

The Russian Supreme Court was represented by First Deputy Chief Justice Pyotr Serkov.

21 – 22 December

“Anti-Counterfeit – 2020” International Forum took place via video with the support of the Republic of Belarus.

Vladimir Popov, Justice of the Judicial Chamber for Economic Disputes, took part in the event, making a presentation titled “Court Protection of the Rights to Means of Individualization of Civil Turnover Participants”.