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Federal Law on the Status of Judges of the Russian Federation (1992, as amended 2005) (English)

THE LAW

OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

NO. 3132-1 OF JUNE 26, 1992

ON THE STATUS OF JUDGES IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

(with Amendments and Addenda of April 14, December 24, 1993,

June 21, 1995, July 17, 1999, June 20, 2000, December 15, 2001, August 22, 2004, April 5, 2005)

 

(About fundamentals of the status of judges in the Russian Federation see Federal Constitutional Law No. 1-FKZ of December 31, 1996 on the Judicial System of the Russian Federation

On the application of the present Law, see the Resolution of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation No. 4994-I of May 20, 1993)

 

Article 1. Judges As Holders of Judicial Power

1. The judicial power in the Russian Federation shall be vested only with the courts in the person of the judges and of the representatives of the people, drawn in the law-stipulated cases into administering justice.

2. The judicial power shall be independent and shall operate independently from the legislative and the executive power.

3. In conformity with the present Law, judges shall be those persons vested in the constitutional order with the power to administer justice and shall discharge their duties on the professional basis.

(By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21, 1995, Item 4 of Article 1 of the present Law was reworded)

4. Judges shall be independent and shall be subject only to the Constitution of the Russian Federation and to the law. In the activity, of administering justice, they shall not be accountable to anyone.

5. The manifestation of disrespect towards the court or towards the judges shall dictate the law-established responsibility.

6. The demands and the orders of the judges, issued while discharging their powers, shall be obligatory, without any exception, for all state bodies and public associations, and for all official persons and other legal and natural persons. The information, documents and their copies, necessary for administering justice, shall be presented free of charge on the judges' demand. The nonsatisfaction of the judges' demands and orders shall entail the law-established responsibility.

Article 2. Uniformity of the Judges' Status

(By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ, Item 1 of Article 2 of the present Law was reworded)

1. All the judges in the Russian Federation shall enjoy a uniform status. The specifics of the legal position of certain categories of judges, including judges of military courts, shall be defined by federal law and in the cases stipulated by federal law, also by the laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

The specifics of the legal position of the judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation shall be defined by the Federal Constitutional Law.

(On the status of the judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, see the Federal Constitutional Law No. 1-FKZ of July 21, 1994)

2. Depending on the occupied post and on the work record in the capacity of the judge and on other law-stipulated circumstances, judges shall be awarded qualifications classes. The awarding of a qualification class to a judge shall not signify a change in his status, compared with other judges in the Russian Federation.

(Federal Law No. 169-FZ of July 17, 1999 amended Article 3 of this Law)

Article 3. Demands Made on the Judges

1. The judge shall be obliged to abide by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and by the other laws.

2. When exercising his powers, and also in his unofficial relations, the judge shall avoid everything which could detract from the authority of the judicial power or denigrate the judge's dignity, or to give rise to doubts as concerns his objectiveness, fairness and impartiality.

(Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 amended Item 3 of Article 3 of this Law)

3. The judge shall not have the right to be a Deputy, the arbitrator, or the arbiter, to be a member of political parties and movements, to engage in business activity and to combine the work in the capacity of the judge with another paid job, except for scientific, pedagogical, literary and other kinds of creative activity.

4. A retired judge having a judge work record of at least 20 years or having attained the age of 55 (50 for women) is entitled to work in the bodies of state power, local self-government bodies, state and municipal institutions, trade union and other public associations and also to work as assistant to a deputy of the State Duma or member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation or assistant to a deputy of the legislative (representative) body of a subject of the Russian Federation, but he/she is not entitled to occupy the position of a procurator, investigator, interrogator.

Within the term when the retired judge performs the activities permitted hereunder he/she shall not be covered by the immunity guarantee established by Article 16 of the present Law, with the judge's membership in the judges community being suspended for the said term.

(Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 reworded Article 4 of this Law

By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21, 1995, Item 4 of the present Law was reworded)

Article 4. Demands Made on Candidates for the Post of Judge

1. To serve as a judge may a citizen of the Russian Federation, who has a higher legal education and satisfies the demands made on the candidate to the post of judge by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, by the federal constitutional laws, as well as by the federal laws.

The following shall be taken into account:

- to serve as a judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation may a citizen, who has reached the age of 40 years and who has a work record in the legal profession of at least 15 years;

- to serve as a judge of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation may a citizen, who has reached the age of 35 years and who has a work record in the legal profession of no less than ten years;

- to serve as a judge of the Supreme Court of a Republic, of a territorial or a regional court, of the court of a city of federal importance, of the court of the autonomous region, of the court of an autonomous area, of the district (naval) military court, or of the federal arbitration court of a district may a citizen, who has reached the age of 30 years and who has a work record in the legal profession of no less that seven years;

- to serve as a judge of the arbitration court of a subject of the Russian Federation, of the constitutional (statutory) court of a subject of the Russian Federation, of a district court, of the garrison military court, and also as a justice of peace may a citizen, who has reached the age of 25 years and who has a work record in the legal profession of no less than five years.

Into the work record in the legal profession shall be included the time of work while occupying the posts, requiring a legal education:

- in the government posts in the federal state power bodies, in the state power bodies of the subjects of the Russian Federation and in the other government bodies, formed in conformity with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and with the Constitutions (the Rules) of the subjects of the Russian Federation, as well as in the government bodies, which existed in the Russian Federation before the currently operating Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted;

- in the municipal posts, including in the local self-government bodies;

Besides, into the work record in the legal profession shall also be included the time of work while occupying the posts, requiring a legal education, in the bodies of the Judicial Department under the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation, in the legal services of organizations, regardless of their legal-organizational forms and forms of ownership, in the scientific research institutes and in the other scientific-research institutions, the time of work in the capacity of a lecturer of legal disciplines in the establishments for the secondary professional, the higher professional and the post-graduate professional education, as well as the time of work in the capacity of a lawyer and of a notary.

2. The Federal Law may make additional demands on candidates for the post of judge of the courts of the Russian Federation.

(Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 supplemented this Law with Article 4.1)

Article 4.1. Medical Examination of the Contender for the Post of Judge

To confirm that the contender for the post of judge has no diseases, interfering with his appointment to the post of judge, his preliminary medical examination shall be carried out. The list of diseases, interfering with an appointment to the post of judge, shall be approved by the decision of the Judicial Council of the Russian Federation on the ground of a presentation of the federal executive power body in the sphere of public health. The form of the document, testifying to the absence of diseases interfering with an appointment to the post of judge, shall be approved by the federal executive power body in the sphere of public health.

(Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 reworded Article 5 of this Law)

Article 5. Selecting Candidates for the Post of Judge

1. Candidates for the post of judge shall be selected on the competitive principle.

2. The chairman of the court, in which a vacant post of judge has appeared, shall report on this to the corresponding qualifications judicial college not later than in ten days after the opening of the vacancy.

The qualifications judicial college shall be obliged, not later than in ten days after receiving the communication from the chairman of the court, to announce the appearance of the vacancy in the mass media, with an indication of the time and place of accepting applications from the contenders for the post of judge, as well as of the time and place of considering the lodged applications.

3. Any citizen, who has reached the age, established by the present Law, who has a higher legal education and the required work record in the legal profession, and has no diseases interfering with an appointment to the post of judge, shall have the right to sit to the qualifications examination for the post of judge, having turned for this to the corresponding examination commission with an application for a permit to take the qualifications examination. Besides the said application, to the examination commission shall also be submitted;

- the original of the document, identifying the person of the contender as a citizen of the Russian Federation, or a copy thereof;

- the questionnaire, containing the biographical data on the contender;

- the original of the document, confirming that the contender has a legal education, or a copy thereof;

- the originals of the work book and of the other documents, confirming the contender's labour activity, or the copies thereof;

- the document on the contender's having no diseases, preventing his appointment to the post of judge.

The examination commission has no right to refuse the citizen, who has submitted the documents (or the copies thereof), listed in this Item, in his right to take the qualifications examination for the post of judge.

4. The qualifications examination for the post of judge shall be passed to an examination commission, formed under the corresponding qualifications judicial college which shall approve the personal composition of the given examination commission.

The procedure for conducting a qualifications examination for the post of judge, as well as the regulations on the examination commissions shall be approved by the Higher Qualifications Judicial College of the Russian Federation.

5. The qualifications examination for the post of judge shall be taken by a citizen who is not a judge. The results of the qualifications examination shall be valid over three years after it is passed, and after the appointment of the citizen to the post of judge - in the course of the entire time of his service in the capacity of a judge.

6. After he has passed the qualifications examination, the citizen who satisfies the demands made by the law on the contender for the judge's post, shall have the right to turn to the corresponding qualifications judicial college with an application for being recommended for filling a vacant post of judge.

In addition to the above-mentioned application, to the qualifications judicial college shall also be submitted:

- the original of the document, identifying the person of the contender as a citizen of the Russian Federation, or a copy thereof;

- the questionnaire, containing the biographical data on the contender;

- the original of the document, confirming that the contender has a legal education, or a certified copy thereof;

- the originals of the work book and of the other documents, confirming the contender's labour activity, or the copies thereof;

- the document on the contender having no diseases, interfering with his appointment to the post of judge;

- information on the results of his sitting to the qualifications examination.

7. The qualifications judicial college shall organize a check-up of the authenticity of the documents and of the information indicated in Item 6 of the present Article. While doing this, the qualifications judicial college has the right to turn with a demand to verify the authenticity of the documents and of the information submitted to it, to the corresponding bodies, which are obliged to inform it on the results of the verification within the time term fixed by the college, but not later than in two months from the day of the receipt of the said demand.

(Federal Law No. 33-FZ of April 5, 2005 amended Item 8 of Article 5 of this Law)

8. In accordance with the results of consideration of the applications from all the citizens who have applied for the post of judge, with the results of checking the authenticity of the documents and of the information, mentioned in Item 6 of the present Article, and with an account for the results of the qualifications examination, the qualifications judicial college shall adopt the decision on recommending one or several the contenders for the post of judge. If in the course of checking up the documents and the information, mentioned in Item 6 of the present Article, their unauthenticity is exposed, the citizen, who has submitted such documents and information, cannot be recommended for the post of judge.

If no one out of the citizens, contending for the post of judge, satisfies the demands, made on the contenders for the judge's post by the present Law, the qualifications judicial college shall adopt in respect of every one of these citizens a motivated decision on the refusal to recommend him for the post of judge and shall announce through the mass media a new place and time for accepting and considering applications from the contenders for the post of judge.

The decision of the qualifications judicial college on recommendation for the post of judge may be appealed against in court, if the college has violated the procedure for selecting the contenders for the post of judge established by this Law. The decision on the refusal to recommend a contender for the post of judge may be appealed against in court both in connection with a violation of the procedure for selecting the contenders to the post of judge, and on the merit of the decision.;

9. The decision of the qualifications judicial college on recommending a citizen for the post of judge shall be directed to the chairm an of the corresponding court, who, if he agrees with the said decision, shall make in the established order the representation on the appointment of the recommended person to the post of judge.

If he disagrees with the said decision, the chairman of the court shall return it for a repeated consideration to the same qualifications judicial college. If the qualifications judicial college confirms its initial decision after the repeated consideration by two-thirds of the college members' votes, the chairman of the court shall be obliged to make the representation of the recommended person to the post of judge.

(Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 reworded Article 6 of this Law)

Article 6. Procedure for Vesting Powers in Judges

1. Judges of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation shall be appointed by the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on the presentation of the President of the Russian Federation, which shall be made with account for the opinion, correspondingly, of the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and of the Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation.

2. Judges of the federal arbitration courts of the areas shall be appointed by the President of the Russian Federation on the presentation of the Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation.

3. Judges of other federal courts of general jurisdiction and of arbitration courts shall be appointed by the President of the Russian Federation on the presentation correspondingly, of the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and of the Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation.

4. Judges of military courts shall be appointed by the President of the Russian Federation on the presentation of the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

5. The President of the Russian Federation shall appoint judges of the federal courts within a two month's term from the date of receiving the necessary materials, and shall present the candidates for the post of judges of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation for appointment to the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, or shall reject the presented candidates, while the chairman of the corresponding court of his decision shall be informed.

6. Candidates to posts of judges shall be duly appointed only if there is a positive conclusion of the corresponding qualifications college of judges.

A judge of the federal court may be appointed at his application to the post, similar to the post occupied by him, to another court of the same level in the order, established by the present Law, with the exception of the demand, stipulated by the first paragraph of this Item. In the same order, a judge of the federal court may be appointed to the post, similar to the post occupied by him, to a lower court;

7. Removed.

(Federal Law No. 33-FZ of April 5, 2005 supplemented Article 6 of this Law with Item 8)

8. Not later than six months before the expiry of the period of authority of a judge, and in the case of early termination of authority - not less than 10 days from the day of appearance of the vacancy for a judge, the relevant qualification college of judges shall announce the vacancy for a judge in the mass media indicating the time and place for submission of applications from candidates to the position of judge, and also the time and place for consideration of the applications received.

Article 6.1. Procedure for the Bestowal of Powers and for the Termination of Powers of the Chairmen and of the Deputies Chairmen of Courts

1. The Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and his Deputy shall be elected in accordance with the procedure, laid down by the Federal Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

2. The Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation shall be appointed to the post by the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for a term of six years at the presentation of the President of the Russian Federation, if there exists a positive conclusion of the Higher Qualifications Judicial College of the Russian Federation.

The Higher Qualifications Judicial College of the Russian Federation shall hand in to the President of the Russian Federation the said conclusion not later than two months before an expiry of the term of powers of the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and of the Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, and in the case of a pre-schedule termination of the said persons' powers - not later than in three months from the day of opening of the vacancy.

3. The Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Deputy Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation shall be appointed to the post by the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for a term of six years at the presentation of the President of the Russian Federation, based on the presentation, respectively, from the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and from the Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, if a positive conclusion is given by the Higher Qualifications Judicial College of the Russian Federation.

The Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation shall make the above-said presentations to the President of the Russian Federation not later than two months before an expiry of the term of powers of the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and of the Deputy Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, and in the case of a pre-schedule termination of the said persons' powers - not later than in three months from the day of opening of the vacancy.

4. The President of the Russian Federation shall make to the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation a presentation on the appointment of the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation or of the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, of the Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation or of the Deputy Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation not later than fourteen days before an expiry of the term of their powers, and in the case of a pre-schedule termination of the said persons' powers - not later than in six months from the day of opening of the vacancy.

5. The Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation shall consider the issue of the appointment to the post of Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation or of Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, of Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation or of Deputy Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation within a time term, not exceeding 14 days after receiving the presentation from the President of the Russian Federation.

6. The Chairmen and the Deputy Chairmen of the Supreme Courts of the Republics, of the territorial and the regional courts, of the courts of the cities of federal importance, of the court of the autonomous region, of the courts of the autonomous areas and of the military courts shall be appointed to the post by the President of the Russian Federation for a term of six years at the presentation from the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, if there exists a positive conclusion of the Higher Qualifications Judicial College of the Russian Federation.

The Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation shall make the above-said presentation to the President of the Russian Federation not later than two months before an expiry of the term of powers of the Chairman and of the Deputy Chairman of the corresponding court, and in the case of a pre-schedule termination of the said persons' powers - not later than in three months from the day of opening of the vacancy

7. The chairmen and the deputies chairmen of the federal arbitration courts of the districts and of the arbitration courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation shall be appointed to the post by the President of the Russian Federation for a term of six years at the presentation of the Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, if there exists a positive conclusion of the Higher Qualifications Judicial College of the Russian Federation.

The Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation shall make the above-said presentation to the President of the Russian Federation not later than two months before an expiry of the term of powers of the chairman and of the deputy chairman of the corresponding court, and in the case of a pre-schedule termination of the said persons' powers - not later than in three months from the day of opening of the vacancy.

8. The chairmen and the deputies chairmen of district courts shall be appointed to the post by the President of the Russian Federation for a term of six years at the presentation from the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, if there exists a positive conclusion of the corresponding qualifications judicial colleges of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

The Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation shall make the above-said presentation to the President of the Russian Federation not later than two months before an expiry of the term of powers of the chairman or of the deputy chairman of the corresponding court, and if the powers of the said persons are terminated before the schedule - not later than in three months after the day of opening of the vacancy.

9. The rejected candidates to the posts of the chairmen and the deputies chairmen of the courts of the same court may be repeatedly presented for an appointment not earlier than in a year in accordance with the procedure, established by the present Article.

10. The chairmen and the deputies chairmen of the constitutional (statutory) courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation shall be appointed to the post in accordance with the procedure, defined by the laws of the corresponding subjects of the Russian Federation.

11. The powers of the chairmen and of the deputies chairmen of the courts shall be terminated after an expiry of the term for which they were appointed.

The said powers may also be terminated before the schedule by the decision of the corresponding qualifications judicial college in connection with the non-execution or an improper execution by the chairmen and the deputies chairmen of their official duties, stipulated by the federal constitutional laws and by the present Law.

Upon the termination of powers of the chairman or of the deputy chairman of the court, the powers of a judge of the court, in which they occupied the post of the chairman or of the deputy chairman of the court, shall be retained by them.

The powers of the chairmen and of the deputies chairmen of the courts shall be suspended, if the powers of the said persons in the capacity of judges of the corresponding courts are suspended or terminated.

If to the post of chairman or of deputy chairman of the court is appointed a person who is not a judge of the corresponding court, and if in the given court there is no vacant post of judge, the staff number of judges of this court shall be increased on the ground of an application from the chairman or the deputy chairman of the corresponding court, whose powers have been terminated.

12. Not later than six months before an expiry of the term of powers of the chairman or of the deputy chairman of the court, and in the case of a pre-schedule termination of the said persons' powers - not later than in ten days from the day the vacancy appeared, the corresponding qualifications judicial college shall announce the opening of the vacancy in the mass media, with an indication of the time and place for accepting the applications from the contenders for the post of chairman or of deputy chairman of the court, as well as of the time and place of the consideration of the filed applications.

13. The chairman and the deputy chairman of a district court shall have the right to appeal against the decision on a pre-schedule termination of their powers with the Higher Qualifications Judicial College of the Russian Federation within ten days after receiving a copy of the said decision. The chairman and the deputy chairman of another federal court shall have the right to appeal against the decision on a pre-schedule termination of their powers with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation within ten days after receiving a copy of the said decision. The decision of the Higher Qualifications Judicial College of the Russian Federation may be appealed against with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation within the same time term.

14. One and the same person may be appointed to the post of chairman (of deputy chairman) of one and the same court more than one time, but only two times running.

Article 6.2. Powers of the Chairmen and the Deputies Chairmen of Courts

1. The chairman of the court shall be obliged to discharge, alongside with exercising the powers of a judge of the corresponding court, as well as the procedural powers established for the chairman of the court by the federal constitutional laws and by the federal laws, the following functions:

1) organize the work of the court;

2) establish the rules for the court's internal regulations on the basis of the model rules for the courts' internal regulations, approved by the Judicial Council of the Russian Federation, and exert control over their observation;

3) distribute the duties among the deputies chairman, and also, in the order laid down by the federal law - among the judges;

4) organize the work aimed at raising the judges' qualifications;

5) perform the general guidance of the activity of the court apparatus, and among other duties appoint to the post and relieve from the post the court apparatus workers, distribute the duties among them and take decisions on stimulating them or on taking them to disciplinary responsibility, and also organize the work aimed at raising the qualifications of the court's apparats workers;

6) regularly inform the judges and the court apparatus workers on his own activity and on the activity of the court;

7) exercise other powers involved in organizing the work of the court.

2. The deputy chairman of the court, alongside with the exercise of the powers of a judge of the corresponding court, as well as of the procedural powers established for the deputy chairman of the court by the federal constitutional laws and by the federal laws, shall also exercise the powers involved in organizing the work of the court in conformity with the division of the duties, established by the chairman of the court.

3. If the chairman of the court is for a time absent (because of an illness, a regular leave or a business trip), his powers shall be exercised by the first deputy chairman of the court, and if there is no first deputy - on the orders of the chairman of the court by one of the deputies chairman of the court, and if the chairman of the court has no deputies on the orders of the chairman of the court by one of the judges of the court.

4. If the powers of the chairman of the court are suspended ot terminated, with the exception of the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the powers of the chairman of the court shall be exercised by the first deputy chairman of this court, and if there is no first deputy - at the decision, respectively, of the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation or of the Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, by one of the deputies chairman of the corresponding court, and if the chairman of the court has no deputies - at the decision of the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation or of the Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, respectively, by one of the judges of this court.

If the powers of the deputy chairman of the court, with the exception of the Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, are suspended or terminated, the powers of the deputy chairman of the court shall be exercised, on the orders of the chairman of the court, by the other deputy chairman of this court, and if there is no other deputy chairman - on the orders of the chairman of the court by one of the judges of this court.

(By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21, 1995, Article 7 of the present Law was omitted)

Article 7. Procedure for Vesting Powers in the Judges of the Arbitration Courts

The candidates to the posts of the judges of the arbitration courts shall be selected and the judicial powers shall be vested in them in conformity with the procedure, stipulated by the Law of the Russian Federation on the Arbitration Court.

(By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21, 1995, the present Law was supplemented with Article 7-1)

Article 7-1. Discharge of the Judge's Duties

1. To administer justice in the capacity of judge, in addition to discharging the duties of the judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the services of the retired judge may be drawn upon, with his consent, for a term of up to one year if the judge's post is vacant, or if there has been a considerable accumulation of a large amount of work in the court, or if the judge is absent or his powers have been suspended.

2. The enlistment of the services of the retired judge for discharging the judge's duties shall be effected by the chairman of the higher-placed court, if the qualifications college of judges has passed a positive conclusion.

Article 8. The Judge's Oath

1. The judge, elected to the post for the first time, shall take a solemn oath of the following content:

"I solemnly swear to discharge my duties honestly and conscientiously, to administer justice, obeying only the law, and to be impartial and just, as my duty as judge and my conscience dictate to me."

2. Judges of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation shall take an oath at the meetings of the judges of these courts. The judges of the other courts shall take an oath at the congresses (the conferences), or at the meetings of the judges.

3. The oath shall be taken by the judge under the State Flag of the Russian Federation, and, in the corresponding cases, also under the state flag of the Republic within the Russian Federation.

(By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21, 1995, amendments have been introduced into Article 9 of the present Law

Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 amended Article 9 of this Federal Law)

Article 9. Guarantees for the Judge's Independence

1. The judge's independence shall be provided for:

- by law-stipulated procedure for administering justice; by the prohibition, under the threat of bearing responsibility, of anyone's interference with the activity of administering justice;

- by the established procedure for the suspension and the termination of the judge's powers;

- by the judge's right to retire;

- by the judge's immunity;

- by the system of bodies in the judicial community;

- by ensuring to the judge material and social maintenance, corresponding to his high status, at the expense of the state.

2. The judge, the members of his family and their property shall be placed under special protection of the state. The internal affairs bodies shall be obliged to take the necessary measures to provide for the safety of the judge and of his family members, as well as of the property, belonging to them, if the judge files the corresponding application.

The judge shall have the right to keep and wear on his person fire-arms, which shall be issued to him by the internal affairs bodies upon his application in conformity with the procedure stipulated by the Law of the Russian Federation on Weapons.

3. The Judicial Department under the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and its bodies in the subjects of the Russian Federation shall take measures to create conditions, necessary for the performance of the current judicial activity of the courts of general jurisdiction and of military courts, as well as to provide for this activity in the terms of the personnel, the organization and the resources. The Judicial Department under the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and its bodies in the subjects of the Russian Federation shall take measures to create conditions, necessary for the performance of the current judicial activity of the courts of general jurisdiction and of military courts, as well as to provide for this activity in the terms of the personnel, the organization and the resources;

4. Guarantees for the judge's independence, including the measures for his legal protection, as well as his material and social maintenance, stipulated by the present Law, shall be given to all the judges in the Russian Federation and shall not be cancelled or reduced by the other normative acts of the Russian Federation and of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

Article 10. The Inadmissibility of Interference with the Judge's Activity

1. Any interference with the judge's activity of administering justice, shall be persecuted by the law.

2. The judge shall not give any explanations on the merit of cases, which have already been examined or are in the process of examination, or to give cases to anyone in order for them to become acquainted with them, other than in the cases and in conformity with the procedure stipulated by the procedural law

(Federal Law No. 33-FZ of April 5, 2005 amended Article 11 of this Law)

Article 11. The Term of the Judge's Powers

The provision of Item 1 of this Article on the maximum age for service as a judge shall extend to all judges of federal courts who have not attained the age of 65 at the entry into force of Federal Law No. 33-FZ of April 5, 2005, with the exception of judges appointed to the position for the first time for a term of three years

1. The powers of the judge in the Russian Federation shall not be limited to a definite time term, with the exception of the cases, stipulated by the federal constitutional laws and by the present Law.

The maximum age for serving as a judge is 70 years old. For judges of constitutional (charter) courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation the laws of the respective subjects of the Russian Federation can establish another maximum age for serving as a judge of these courts.

2. A judge of the federal court, with the exception of the judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, shall be appointed to the post for the first time for a term of three years, and after an expiry of this term he may be appointed to the same post without a restriction imposed upon the term of powers until he reaches the ultimate age for the occupation of the judge's post.

The provisions of Item 3 of this Article on the maximum age for justices of the peace shall extend to justices of the peace appointed (elected) to this position until expiry of the term of authority of earlier appointed (elected) justices

3. Justices of the peace are initially appointed (elected) for service for a period established by a law of the relevant subject of the Russian Federation, but for not longer than five years. On repeated and subsequent appointment (election) to the position a justice of the peace is appointed (elected) for a term established by a law of the relevant subject of the Russian Federation, but not less than five years. If, in the course of the indicated period, a justice of the peace reaches the maximum age for serving as a judge, he is appointed (elected) to the position of justice of the peace for a term until he reaches the maximum age for service as a judge.

4. The term of authority and maximum age for service as a judge for constitutional (charter) courts of subjects of the Russian Federation is established by laws of the relevant subjects of the Russian Federation.

5. The judge shall be considered as having assumed the post as from the moment he takes the oath, and if the post of judge is assumed by a person who has already taken the oath earlier - as from the day of his appointment (election) to the post of judge.

6. The judge's powers shall be terminated:

- on the last day of the month, in which the term of his powers expires, if this term is fixed by the law;

- on the last day of the month, in which he reaches the age established by Item 1 of the present Article;

- on the next day after the decision of the qualifications judicial college on a pre-schedule termination of the judge's powers comes into force.

A judge, whose authority has ceased due to expiry of the term, if he does not approach the relevant qualification college of judges in the established procedure with an announcement on appointment as a judge or if the relevant qualification college of judges has denied him a recommendation as judge for an unlimited term of authority, or a judge whose term of authority has expired due to him attaining the maximum age for service as a judge, shall continue to exercise his authority until completion of consideration of cases on their merits, started with his participation, or until the first appointment of a judge in the relevant court.

If there are several judges in a court whose authority has terminated due to expiry of the term of appointment or because they have attained the maximum age for service as a judge, the first to cease to exercise his authority is the judge for whom first arose the reason for termination of authority as a judge.

Article 12. The Judge's Irremovability

Judges shall be irreplaceable. They shall not be liable to transfer to another post or to another court without their consent, and their powers may be terminated or suspended only on the basis and in conformity with the procedure stipulated by the present Law.

(Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 supplemented this Law with Article 12.1)

Article 12.1. Disciplinary Responsibility of Judges

1. For committing a disciplinary offence (a violation of the norms of the present Law, as well as of the provisions of the Code of Judicial Ethics approved by the All-Russia Congress of Judges), upon the judge, with the exception of the judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, may be imposed a disciplinary punishment in the form of:

- a warning;

- a pre-schedule termination of the judge's powers.

The decision on imposing a disciplinary punishment upon a judge shall be adopted by the qualifications judicial college, to whose competence the consideration of the question about the termination of the powers of the given judge is referred as at the moment of adopting the decision.

The procedure for taking to disciplinary responsibility the judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is defined by the Federal Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

2. If in the course of one year after the disciplinary punishment is imposed, the judge does not commit a new disciplinary offence, he shall be considered as not having been imposed a disciplinary punishment.

(By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21, 1995, Article 13 of the present Law was reworded

Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 amended Article 13 of this Federal Law)

Article 13. Suspension of the Judge's Powers

1. Judge's powers shall be suspended by the decision of the qualifications college of judges, if there exists one of the following grounds:

1) recognition of the judge as absent for unknown reasons by the court decision which has come into legal force;

2) a criminal charge shall be initiated against a judge, or he shall be taken to court as a defendant in another criminal case;

3) the judge's participation in the election campaign in the capacity of a candidate to a legislative (representative) power body of the Russian Federation or to the legislative (representative) power body of the subject of the Russian Federation;

4) the judge's being elected to the legislative (representative) power body of the Russian Federation or to the legislative (representative) power body of the subject of the Russian Federation.

2. Suspension of the judge's powers, except by way of preventive punishment he has been taken into custody, shall not entail the termination or the reduction of his wages and if he has been recognized as absent for unknown reasons - to his family, of his wages. The suspension of the judge's powers, except the cases of his being taken into custody by way of preventive punishment, shall not entail the reduction of the level of the other material or social maintenance of the judge and shall not deprive him of the guarantees of immunity, established by the present Law.

3. The decision to retranslate the judge's powers shall be made by the qualifications college of judges which has suspended his powers.

(Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 amended Article 14 of this Federal Law)

Article 14. Termination of the Judge's Powers

(Federal Law No. 33-FZ of April 5, 2005 amended Item 1 of Article 14 of this Law)

1. The judge's powers shall be terminated on the following grounds:

1) the judge's written application requesting retirement;

2) the incapability, because of the state of health or for other valid reasons, to exercise the judge's powers;

3) the judge's written application for the termination of his powers in connection with his changing jobs or for other reasons;

4) a judge reaching the maximum age for service as a judge or expiry of the term of authority of a judge, if this was limited by a fixed term;

5) the dismissal of the judge of a military district from military service upon his reaching the maximum age of being in the military service;

6) the cessation of the citizenship of the Russian Federation;

7) the judge's engagement in activities incompatible with the post of the judge;

8) the coming into legal force of the court's verdict of guilty with respect to the judge, or of the court's decision to apply to him compulsory measures of a medicinal nature;

9) the coming into the legal force of a court decision on restricting the judge's legal capacity or of recognizing him as legally incapable;

10) the death of the judge or the coming into legal force of the court decision on recognizing him as dead;

11) the judge's refusal to be transferred to another court in connection with the elimination or the reorganization of the court.

12) abolished.

2. The powers of a judge may be terminated before the schedule on the grounds, envisaged by Subitems 1-3 and 6-11 of Item 1 of the present Article.

3. If the decision of the Higher Qualifications College of Judges to terminate the judge's powers, or of the court's verdict of guilty or of the court decision, indicated in Subitem 8, Item 1 of the present Article is cancelled, the judge shall be re-installed in his former capacity, and the wages, due to him, shall be paid.

Article 15. The Judge's Retirement

1. In accordance with the spirit of the present Law, the judge's retirement shall be recognized as an honorable exit or as the judge's honourable dismissal from his post. The person, who is in retirement, shall preserve the title of judge, guarantees of personal immunity and the affiliation to the judicial community.

According to Item 4 of Article 3 of this Law, the immunity guarantee shall not cover the retired judges performing the activities indicated in this Item. The judge's membership in the judges community shall be suspended

(Federal Law No. 33-FZ of April 5, 2005 amended Item 2 of Article 15 of this Law)

2. Every judge shall have the right to retirement on his own wish, irrespective of age. The judge shall be regarded as absent or sent into retirement, if his powers have been terminated on the grounds stipulated by Subitems 1, 2,4,5,9 and 11 of Item 1 of Article 14 of the present Law.

The period of work in the capacity of judge in the areas of the Extreme North and in the territories equated to them, shall be multiplied by one and a half times, when the judge's work record is calculated.

3. The judge, who has gone or has been sent into retirement, shall receive a discharge pay in the amount of a monthly wage in the last post for every full year of work as a judge, but not less than a 6-fold size of his wage in the post he is leaving. If the judge has gone or has been sent into retirement earlier, only the time of his work as the judge, which has elapsed from the moment of the interruption of his last retirement, shall be taken into account.

(Federal Law No. 122-FZ of August 22, 2004 reworded Item 4 of Article 15 of this Law. The new wording shall enter into force as of January 1, 2005)

4. After the judge has gone or has been sent into retirement, he/she shall be paid compensation for acquiring travel documents for all public conveyances of urban, suburban and local service at the expense of the federal budget in the procedure determined by the Government of the Russian Federation.

By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21,1995, the operation of the first and the third point of Item 5, Article 15 of the present Law was spread to the judges, who have been transferred for work to the state organizations and have gone into retirement from this job, as well as to the persons, who have occupied the post of the state arbiter and have gone into retirement from this post

5. The retired judge shall be paid a pension on the general grounds. The retired judge with a work record in the judge's capacity of no less than 20 years, shall be paid, by his choice, either a pension on the general grounds or an untaxable life monthly allowance in the amount of 80 per cent of the wages of the judge, occupying the corresponding post. For the retired judge with a work record below 20 years, who has reached the age of 55 years (50 years for women), the size of the monthly life maintenance shall be counted proportionately to the number of the full years, worked in the judge's capacity.

(See also the Resolution of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation No. 4994-I of May 20, 1993)

To the retired judge with a work record in this capacity of over 20 years, the monthly life maintenance shall be augmented according to the following calculations:for every year of the work record above 20 years - one per cent of the said maintenance, but in total, not over 85 per cent of the salary of the judge, occupying the corresponding post.

Retired judges, who have become invalids as a result of a battle wound, shall have the right to a monthly life maintenance and to a disablement pension.

6. A judge shall be regarded as retired in the course of the time, during which he satisfies the demands, stipulated by Item 3 of Article 3 of the present Law, maintains the citizenship of the Russian Federation and does not commit any acts, defaming him and thus detracting from the authority of his judicial power.

7. The qualifications college of judges at the location of the former job or of the retired judge's permanent residence after having established the fact of his no longer satisfying the demands, made on the judges by the present Law, shall terminate the judge's retirement. The judge, whose retirement has been terminated, shall have the right to appeal this decision in conformity with the procedure, stipulated by Item 2 of Article 14 of the present Law.

8. The judge's retirement shall also be terminated in case of his repeated election to the post of judge.

9. The judge, whose retirement has been terminated, shall have the right to a pension maintenance in conformity with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

(Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 amended Article 16 of this Federal Law)

Article 16. The Judge's Immunity

1. The judge shall be seen as immune. The judge's immunity shall embrace the inviolability of his person, of the living and official premises he occupies, of the personal and official transportation facilities he uses, of the documents belonging to him, of the baggage and the other property, of the secrecy of correspondence and of the other forms of communication (telephone talks, mail, telegraph and other kinds of electrical and different communications the judge receives and dispatches).

(Federal Law No. 33-FZ of April 5, 2005 amended Item 2 of Article 16 of this Law)

2. The judge, including after termination of his authority, cannot be taken to any kind of responsibility for an opinion he has expressed in administering justice and for a decision adopted by the court, unless the court sentence, which has come into legal force, has established the judge's being guilty of a criminal abuse or of passing a deliberately illegal sentence, decision or other kind of the court act.

3. The decision on the question of instituting a criminal case against a judge or on taking him as a defendant in another criminal case shall be adopted:

- with respect to a judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation - by the Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation, on the ground of the conclusion of the judicial college in the composition of three judges of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the presence in the judge's actions of the signs of a crime, and with the consent of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation;

- with respect to a judge of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, of the Supreme Court of the Republic, of the territorial or the regional court, of the court of a city of federal importance, of the court of the autonomous region, of the court of an autonomous area, of the district (naval) military court, of the federal arbitration court - by the Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation, on the ground of the conclusion of the judicial college in the composition of three judges of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the presence in the judge's actions of the signs of a crime, and with the consent of the Higher Qualifications Judicial College of the Russian Federation;

- with respect to a judge of another court - by the Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation on the ground of the conclusion of the judicial college in the composition of three judges, respectively, of the Supreme Court of the Republic, of the territorial and the regional court, of the court of a city of federal importance, of the court of the autonomous region or of the court of an autonomous area on the presence in the judge's actions of the signs of a crime, and with the consent of the qualifications judicial college of the corresponding subject of the Russian Federation.

The conclusion of the judicial college on the presence in the judge's actions of the signs of a crime shall be adopted within a ten-day term after the arrival to the court of the corresponding presentation from the Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation with the participation of the procurator he has authorized, as well as of the judge and (or) of his lawyer, on the ground of the materials submitted to the court.

A motivated decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation or of the qualifications judicial college on the question of giving his consent to the institution of a criminal case with respect to a judge, or on drawing him into another criminal case as the defendant, shall be adopted within a ten-day term after the arrival of the presentation from the Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation and of the conclusion of the judicial college on the presence in the judge's actions of the signs of a crime.

Changing in the course of investigation of the definition of the corpus delicti (of the formal components of the crime), which may entail the worsening of the judge's situation, shall be admissible only in accordance with the procedure, laid down by the present Article for adopting the decision on the institution of a criminal case against the judge or on taking him to answer as the defendant in another criminal case.

4. The decision on the question of bringing a judge to administrative responsibility shall be adopted:

- with respect to a judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, of the Supreme Court of a Republic, of the territorial or the regional court, of the court of a city of federal importance, of the court of the autonomous region or of the court of an autonomous area, or of the district (naval) military court, or of the federal arbitration court - by the judicial college in the composition of three judges of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation at the presentation of the Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation;

- with respect to a judge of another court - by the judicial college in the composition of three judges of, respectively, the Supreme Court of the Republic, the territorial or the regional court, the court of a city of federal importance, the court of the autonomous region, the court of an autonomous area - at the presentation of the Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation.

The decision on the question of bringing a judge to administrative responsibility shall be adopted within a ten-day term after receiving the presentation from the Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation.

5. A judge, detained on the suspicion of committing a crime or on other grounds, or forcibly taken to any government body, if the personality of this judge could not have been known at the moment of detention, shall be subject to an immediate release after his identification.

No bodily search of a judge shall be admissible, with the exception of the cases stipulated by the federal law in order to ensure the security of other people.

6. The decision on the selection with respect to a judge of a measure of restriction in the form of taking into custody shall be adopted:

- with respect to a judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, of the Supreme Court of a Republic, of the territorial and the regional court, of the court of a city of federal importance, of the court of the autonomous region, of the court of an autonomous area, of the district (naval) military court, of the federal arbitration court - by the judicial college in the composition of three judges of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation at the petition from the Procurator-General of the Russian Federation;

- with respect to a judge of another court - by the judicial college in the composition of three judges, respectively, of the Supreme Court of a Republic, of the territorial and the regional court, of the court of a city of federal importance, of the court of the autonomous region, of the court of an autonomous area - at the petition from the Procurator-General of the Russian Federation.

A judge may be taken into custody with the consent, respectively, of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation or of the corresponding qualifications judicial college. The corresponding presentation to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation or to the qualifications judicial college shall be made by the Procurator-General of the Russian Federation.

A motivated decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation or of the corresponding qualifications judicial college on giving the consent to meting out with respect to a judge by way of a measure of restriction taking him into custody shall be adopted not later than in five days from the day of arrival of the presentation from the Procurator-General of the Russian Federation and of the corresponding decision of the court.

7. Implementation with respect to a judge of operational investigation measures, as well as of investigative actions (if no criminal case is instituted against the judge or if he is not taken to court as the defendant in a criminal case), involved in the restriction of his civil rights or in the violation of his immunity, defined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, by the federal constitutional laws and by the federal laws, shall be admissible only on the ground of the decision to be passed:

- with respect to a judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, of the Supreme Court of a Republic, of the territorial and of the regional court, of the court of a city of federal importance, of the court of the autonomous region, of the court of an autonomous area, of the district (naval) military court and of the federal arbitration court - by the judicial college in the composition of three judges of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation;

- with respect to a judge of another court - by the judicial college in the composition of three judges, respectively, of the Supreme Court of a Republic, of the territorial and the regional court, of the court of a city of federal importance, of the court on the autonomous region and of the court of an autonomous area.

After a criminal case is instituted against a judge or after he is brought to court as an accused in a criminal case, the operational investigation measures and the investigative actions with respect to the judge (with the exception of taking him into custody) shall be carried out in the order, established by the federal criminal-procedural law and by the federal law on the operational-investigation activity.

8. When considering the questions about an institution of a criminal case against a judge or about taking him to court as an accused in a criminal case, about bringing a judge to administrative responsibility, about an implementation with respect to a judge of operational-investigation measures or of investigative actions, the court or the qualifications judicial college, having established that the implementation of the said measures or actions is rooted in the stand the judge occupied as he exercised judicial powers, shall refuse to give their consent to the implementation of the above-said measures or actions.

9. The composition of the judicial colleges of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, of the Supreme Court of a Republic, of the territorial and of the regional court, of the court of a city of federal importance, of the court of the autonomous region, of the court of an autonomous area for the adoption of the conclusions and the decisions, stipulated by Items 3, 4, 6 and 7 of the present Article, shall be annually approved, respectively, by the Higher Qualifications Judicial College of the Russian Federation or by the qualifications judicial college of the subject of the Russian Federation.

10. The conclusions and the decisions, stipulated by Items 3, 4, 6 and 7 of the present Article, may be appealed against in accordance with the procedure, established by the federal law.

11. The criminal case, instituted against a judge, shall be considered at a petition he has submitted before the start of the court proceedings, by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

12. The decisions of the Higher Qualifications Judicial College of the Russian Federation and of the qualifications judicial college of a subject of the Russian Federation, passed in conformity with Item 8 of Article 5, with Item 1 of Article 12, with Item 1 of Article 13 and with Item 1 of Article 14, may be appealed against, respectively, with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of a Republic, the territorial and the regional court, the court of a city of federal importance, the court of the autonomous region and the court of an autonomous area, within ten days after receiving the copies of the said decisions.

According to Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 Article 17 shall be excluded from this Law as of the moment of entry into force of Federal Law No. 30-FZ of March 14, 2002 on the Bodies of the Judicial Corps in the Russian Federation

Article 17. The Judicial Community Bodies

1. To reflect the judges' interests as agents of judicial power, they shall set up the judicial community bodies.

2. The judicial community bodies shall be:

- the All-Russia Congress of Judges, and in the interim between the congresses, the Council of Judges of the Russian Federation, elected by the All-Russia Congress of Judges;

- the meetings of the judges of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation;

- the congresses (conferences) of the judges of the Republics within the Russian Federation, of the territories, the regions, the cities of Moscow and of St.Petersburg, of the autonomous region and of the autonomous areas, of the military districts, of the army groups and of the navies, as well as of the arbitration courts, and in the interim between the congresses (conferences), the councils of the judges, elected by them.

3. The judicial community bodies shall:

1) discuss the issues, involved in the judicial practice and in improving the legislation;

2) carry out a public expert examination of the draft laws and of the other normative acts, concerned with the activity of the courts and with the judges' status;

3) examine the vital problems, involved in the work of the courts, in their personnel, organizational and resources provision, and the judges' legal and social status;

4) represent the judges' interests in the state bodies and in the public associations;

5) elect the corresponding qualifications colleges of the judges (separately for the general, the military and the arbitration courts).

4. The judicial community bodies shall adopt decisions on the discussed issues, and also addresses to the state bodies, to the public associations and to the official persons, liable to consideration within a month's term.

5. The judicial community bodies shall perform their work, while invariably abiding by the principle of the judges' independence and of the non-interference with the judicial activity.

6. The order of the establishment and of the activity of the judicial community bodies shall be defined by the All-Russia Congress of Judges.

According to Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 Article 17 shall be excluded from this Law as of the moment of entry into force of Federal Law No. 30-FZ of March 14, 2002 on the Bodies of the Judicial Corps in the Russian Federation

Article 18. Qualifications Colleges of Judges

1. To deal with the issues of:

- selecting the candidates for the post of judge;

- suspending or terminating the judge's powers;

- ensuring the judge's immunity;

- performing the attestation of the judge and awarding to him a class of qualifications -

shall be set up the Higher Qualifications College of Judges and the qualifications colleges of judges of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, of the judges of the Republics within the Russian Federation, of the territories, of the regions, of the cities of Moscow and of St.Petersburg, of the autonomous region and of the autonomous areas, of the judges of the military districts, as well as of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation and of the other arbitration courts.

(By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21, 1995, amendments have been introduced into Item 2, Article 18 of the present Law)

2. The procedure for the organization and the activity, as well as the powers of the Higher and of the other qualifications colleges of judges shall be defined by the Regulations on the Qualifications Colleges of Judges, approved by the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

(Federal Law No. 122-FZ of August 22, 2004 amended Article 19 of this Law. The amendments shall enter into force as of January 1, 2005)

Article 19. Material Maintenance of the Judges

1. The wages of the judge (the monetary maintenance of the judge of a military district) shall consist of an official salary (for the military judges - plus an extra payment for military rank), additional payments for the qualifications class and for a long work record, plus 50 per cent of the official salary for the specific labour conditions, which shall not be reduced. The judge shall also be entitled to some other payments, stipulated by the laws and by other normative legal acts. The size of the judges' official salary shall be fixed in correspondence with the occupied post in the percentages, defined by the Federal Law, to an official salary of the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and of the Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, and shall not be less than 50 per cent of their salary. An official salary of the judge shall not be less than 80 per cent of an official salary of the chairman of the corresponding court.

(On the effect of the second, third and forth paragraphs of Item 1 of Article 19 of the present Law see the Resolution of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly No. 1090-I GD of July 21, 1995

Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 17-P of November 17, 1997 recognized the above-mentioned Resolution as not being in conformity with the Constitution of the Russian Federation

(By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21, 1995, it has been laid down that the second paragraph of Item 1, Article 19 of the present Law shall come into force from January 1, 1996)

The judge, who has reached the age of 60 years (the women judges - the age of 55 years), with the work record in the legal profession of not less than 25 years, including at least 10 years in the capacity of the judge, shall have the right, while going into retirement, to receive a monthly life maintenance in the full amount. Into the work record, taken into account when calculating the size of the monthly life maintenance, shall be included the period of occupying the post of the judge and the other posts of the legal profession in the state organizations, for whose filling a higher juridical education is required, as well as the term of work in the capacity of a lawyer before being appointed to the post of the judge.

For the judges, who have worked in the regions of the Extreme North and in the localities, equated to them, no less than, correspondingly, 15 and 20 calendar years and who have gone (have been sent) into retirement, the monthly life maintenance shall be allocated and paid, taking into account the district coefficient of the monthly wages, regardless of their place of residence and the time of turning for the said maintenance.

(By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21, 1995, it has been laid down that the fourth paragraph of Item 1, Article 19 of the present Law shall come into force from January 1, 1996)

The judges, who hold the scientific degree of the Candidate of Law or the academic title of an assistant professor, shall receive an additional pay in the amount of five per cent of the official salary, and the judges, who hold the scientific degree of the Doctor of Law or the academic title of a professor - in the amount of 10 per cent of the official salary. The judges, holding the honorary title of the Merited Lawyer of the Russian Federation, shall receive an additional pay in the amount of 10 per cent of the official salary. The judges in retirement, as well as the workers of the courts, possessing the class ranks, shall also be entitled to these additional payments. The size of the monthly life maintenance with account for the said additional payments, as well as for the additional payment, stipulated by the second paragraph of Item 5, Article 15 of the present Law, shall not exceed 85 per cent of the salary of the judge, occupying the corresponding post.

2. The judges shall enjoy annual paid leaves of 30 working days.

For the judges, working in the areas of the Extreme North, the annual paid leaves shall be extended to 51 working days, and for those working in the localities, equated to the areas of the Extreme North, as well as in the localities with the health-hazardous and unfavourable climatic conditions, where there exist the wages coefficients - to 45 working days.

The judge shall also be entitled to an annual additional paid leave, depending on his work record in the legal profession:

- from 5 to 10 years - 5 working days;

- from 10 to 15 years - 10 working days;

- over 15 years - 15 working days.

The time, spent by the judge on the way to the place of rest and back shall not be included into the term of the leave. The cost of the to and fro travel shall be liable to compensation.

The procedure, involved in defining the work record for granting an additional annual paid leave, shall be laid down by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, by the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation and by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

3. Judges in need of improving their housing conditions shall be provided in compliance with the norms established by the legislation of the Russian Federation with separate living premises subject to a judge's right to additional living space of 20 square meters or in the form of a separate room to be acquired at the expense of the federal budget funds allocated for these purposes by courts of the Russian Federation in the procedure established by the Government of the Russian Federation.

As judges in need of improving housing conditions subject to the provisions of this Article shall be deemed those of them who are not provided with living space in compliance with the requirements and norms established by the housing legislation of the Russian Federation and the housing legislation of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

Judges shall be entitled to compensation of the expenses connected with renting (sub-renting) living premises pending the provision thereto in the established procedure of living quarters for permanent habitation.

In the living premises occupied by judges telephones shall be installed out of turn and shall be payable at the established tariffs.

In the same procedure there shall be provided places for judges' children at infant school institutions, boarding schools, summer health-improving institutions.

4. The judge, who has gone or has been sent into retirement with the work record in the capacity of a judge of at least 20 years, or who has become an invalid during his term of office and has wished to move for a permanent residence to another locality, shall be provided in the procedure established by the Government of the Russian Federation with a comfortable housing in the form of a separate flat or of a house at the expense of the federal budget. He shall also be entitled to an out-of-turn membership of a building cooperative and shall be rendered assistance in the individual housing construction.

(By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21, 1995, the operation of Item 5, Article 19 of the present Law shall be spread to the judges, who have gone onto a pension from this post, regardless of the time of their going onto a pension)

5. The judge and his family members shall have the right to the medical services, including provision with medicines, which shall be paid for from the means of the federal budget. They shall also be entitled for the right to the sanatorium and resort treatment, which shall be paid for to the judge, to his wife (her husband) and to his (her) underaged children from the means of the federal budget. These rights shall be maintained by the judge after his going (being sent) into retirement or onto a pension. The medical services to the judge, who is retired or is on the pension, and to his family members shall be paid for from the means of the federal budget at the same medical institutions, where they have been registered.

(Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 amended Item 6 of Article 19 of this Federal Law)

6. In case of the termination of the judge's powers on the grounds, stipulated by Subitem 10 of Item 1 of Article 14 of the present Law, his family shall be paid a single-time lump allowance, proceeding from his monthly salary in the last post for every full year of work in the capacity of the judge, but not less than his yearly salary.

In case of the elimination or of the reorganization of the court, the judge may be, with his consent, transferred to another court. For the period, in the course of which the transfer is being formalized, the judge shall retain his salary. In the case of the judge's refusal to be transferred, he shall have the right to go into retirement on the general grounds. In this case, he shall also be entitled to a compensation in the amount of his yearly salary in the last post.

(By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21,1995, the operation of Item 7, Article 19 of the present Law shall be spread to the judges, who have gone onto a pension from this post, regardless of the time of their going onto a pension)

7. Judges shall be provided for official purposes with travel documents for all public conveyances (except for taxi) of urban, suburban and local service acquired by courts from appropriate transport organisations in the procedure determined by the Government of the Russian Federation.

When sent on business trips, they shall enjoy the right to book and to get out of turn the accommodations at the hotels and to acquire travel documents for all kinds of transport.

8. The judges and the court workers, possessing the class titles, shall be provided with a free official uniform in the procedure and according to the norms established by the Government of the Russian Federation.

(By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21, 1995, amendments have been introduced into Article 20 of the present Law)

Article 20. Social Protection Measures for the Judge and for His Family

(On the state protection of the judges, see also the Federal Law No. 45-FZ of April 20, 1995)

1. The life, the health and the property of the judge shall be liable to an obligatory state insurance at the expense of the means from the federal budget. The life and the health of the judge shall be liable to insurance in the amount of his 15-year salary.

2. The state insurance bodies shall pay the insurance sums of money in case of:

- the perish (the death) of the judge during his work or after his dismissal from the post, if it has occurred as a result of the bodily injuries or another kind of the harm, inflicted upon his health - to his heirs in the amount of the judge's 15-year salary;

- the inflicting of a severe injury or another kind of harm upon the health, excluding the further performance of the professional activity - in the amount of the judge's three-year salary;

- the inflicting upon the judge of the bodily injuries or of another kind of harm to his health, which have not resulted in a stable loss of the work capacity, excluding his further performance of the professional activity - in the amount of the judge's one-year salary.

3. In the case of inflicting a severe injury or another kind of harm to the judge's health, excluding his further performance of the professional activity, he shall receive monthly the compensation in the form of the salary of the judge, occupying the corresponding post.

The disability pension, allocated to the judge in connection with the severe injury, as well as the other kinds of pensions, allocated to him both before and after the severe injury, shall not be counted as the compensation for the harm, the same as the victim judge's earnings after the severe injury and the payments, which he has received by the obligatory state insurance.

4. In case of the perish (the death) of the judge, the disabled members of his family, who have been the judge's dependants, shall be paid a monthly compensation in the amount of the salary of the judge, occupying the corresponding post, minus the share, which has been due to the judge himself, not counting the payments by the obligatory state insurance, the pensions for the loss of the bread-winner, as well as the other pensions, the earnings, the student grants and all kind of other incomes.

The above order of payment shall also be applied in the case of the perish (the death) of the retired judge, whose family members, who have been his dependents, shall be entitled to a monthly compensation, proceeding from the size of the life maintenance, allocated to the judge.

5. The losses, caused by the destruction or by the damage to the property, belonging to the judge or to his family members, shall be liable to compensation, due to him or to his family members, in the full volume.

6. The payments by way of compensation for the damages, stipulated by Items 3, 4 and 5 of the present Article, shall be made from the means of the federal budget.

7. The rules, contained in Items 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the present Article, shall not be applied, if, in conformity with the law-stipulated procedure, it is established that the causing of the damages to the judge and to his family members has not been connected with the judge's official activity.

(Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 supplemented this Law with Article 20.1)

Article 20.1. Maintaining the Qualifications Level, Necessary for Exercising the Judge's Powers

1. To maintain the level of the qualifications, necessary for exercising the judicial powers, a judge shall have the right to improve his qualifications once in three years at the institutions of the higher professional and the post-graduate professional education, with the retainment of his monetary maintenance over the period of the studies.

2. The improvement of the qualifications shall be organized, respectively, by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and by the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, and shall be implemented for the judges of federal courts at the expense of the funds from the federal budget, and for the justices of the peace - at the expense of the funds from the budget of the corresponding subject of the Russian Federation.

Article 21. The Tokens of the Judicial Power

1. On the court building shall be fastened the State Flag of the Russian Federation, and in the hall for the court sessions, the depiction of the State Emblem of the Russian Federation and the State Flag of the Russian Federation shall be placed.

(By the Federal Law No. 91-FZ of June 21, 1995, Item 2 and Item 3, Article 21 of the present Law were reworded)

2. When administering justice, the judges shall wear the judge's gown.

(Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 reworded Item 3 of Article 21 of this Law)

3. The identification cards of a judge shall be signed for the judges of federal courts by the President of the Russian Federation and shall be issued in the order, established by the President of the Russian Federation.

(See Regulations on the Procedure for Issuing a Judge's Identification Card to Judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation and to Judges Appointed by the President of the Russian Federation, endorsed by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1624 of September 9, 2000)

The identification cards of a judge shall be signed and issued to the judges of the constitutional (statutory) courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation in accordance with the procedure, established by the laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

The identification cards of a judge for the resigned judges shall be signed and issued by the chairman of the court in which they worked in the capacity of a judge directly before the resignation.

(Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 15, 2001 supplemented this Law with Article 22)

Article 22. Operation of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on Labour with Respect to Judges

The legislation of the Russian Federation on labour shall be spread to judges in the part, not regulated by the present Law.

 

President of the Russian Federation

Boris Yeltsin

Moscow, the House of Soviets of Russia