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Russia judicial reform urged by Council of Europe

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The Council of Europe (COE) on Tuesday urged substantial reforms to correct systemic problems in the Russian legal system, including the prevalence of political prosecutions and a lack of judicial independence. A report presented by COE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights member Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger addressed politically-motivated legal abuses in the dominant European legal systems, focusing largely on Russia's shortcomings in combating "structural defects that lead to the accusation and conviction of many innocent persons" within the country. Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said that the cases against former Yukos Oil executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky and international investment firm Hermitage Capital, as well as the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, were "emblematic" of the "legal nihilism" of the Russian system, including pressure on judges to convict, intimidation of defense lawyers and restrictions on jury trials. The report urges Russia to increase judicial independence by ensuring that judges are not evaluated on the basis of their judicial decisions and altering the system for allocating cases to particular judges, and "to effectively protect defence lawyers from searches and seizures of documents pertaining to the privileged lawyer-client relationship" and other forms of harassment. Earlier this month, Khodorkovsky called for "preventative judicial reforms," saying that putting an end to corruption and political pressure should be a governmental priority. In March, Khodorkovsky criticized amendments signed into law in January by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, allowing trials for treason and terrorism to be adjudicated without juries. Medvedev himself acknowledged the need for judicial reform in December, saying that transparent courts would restore faith in the justice system and prevent people from seeking redress in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on June 24, 2009 (boomark / email).