The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is
a highest judicial body of constitutional supervision in the Russian Federation,
exercising judicial powers by way of administering constitutional justice with
the aim to protect the basis of the constitutional system, basic human and
civil rights and freedoms, ensuring supremacy and direct effect of the
Constitution of the Russian Federation on the entire territory of the Russian
Federation
Composition and establishment of the Constitutional
Court of the Russian Federation
The Constitutional Court consists of 11* judges,
appointed by the Federation Council upon nomination by the President of the
Russian Federation. The Constitutional Court performs its functions if no less
than two thirds of the total number of Judges are in office. The powers of the
Constitutional Court are of unlimited duration.
* Judges of the Constitutional
Court of the Russian Federation, exercising their powers on the date of entry
into force of Article 1 of this Law, continue to exercise the powers of a judge
of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation until their termination
on the grounds established by the Federal Constitutional Law of 21 July 1994 No. 1-ФКЗ "On the Constitutional Court Of the Russian
Federation" (Article 3, Section 7 of the Law of the Russian Federation on
the amendment to the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 14 March 2020
No. 1-ФКЗ "On Improving the
Regulation of Certain Issues of the Organisation and Functioning of Public
Authorities").
Powers of the Constitutional
Court of the Russian Federation
Powers and principles of establishment and operation
of the Constitutional Court are determined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the Federal Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court of the
Russian Federation.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation
decides exclusively issues of law and is
guided only by the Constitution. When carrying out constitutional adjudication,
the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation refrains from establishing
and examining factual circumstances in all cases when it falls within the
competence of other courts or other bodies.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation
verifies laws and other acts of the highest bodies of state power of the
Russian Federation and its constituent entities for compliance with the
Constitution, including laws and their drafts in the form of preliminary
constitutional control at the request of the President. The court may consider
the issue of constitutionality of normative legal acts in the manner of
specific constitutional control - upon complaints from citizens, legal
entities, municipalities, or upon requests from courts in connection with a
specific case. It also reviews international treaties before their entry into
force, considers disputes about the competence determined by the Constitution,
gives official interpretation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation,
resolves the issue of possibility of enforcing decisions of an interstate body,
foreign or international court or arbitration, and exercises a number of other
powers.
Procedure for the activity of the Constitutional Court
of the Russian Federation
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation
shall act in accordance with the rules of constitutional proceedings
established by the Federal Constitutional Law "On the Constitutional Court
of the Russian Federation". Certain issues of organising its activities
are determined by the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court.
The main principles of the activities of the
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are independence, collegiality,
transparency, equality of parties and adversarial proceedings.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation
considers and adjudicates cases in sessions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian
Federation with the holding of hearings, and in the cases and in the manner
established by Article 47.1 of the Federal Constitutional Law "On the
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation" also without holding
hearings.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation in
the course of constitutional adjudication delivers decisions in the
form of judgements, resolutions, and admissibility decisions. Consideration of
cases and issues and adoption of decisions are carried out by the
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation collectively.
Binding nature of decisions
The decisions are final and not subject to appeal. The
provisions of normative acts recognised by the Constitutional Court as contrary
to the Constitution become invalid. Acts or their individual provisions recognised
as constitutional in their interpretation given by the Constitutional Court of
the Russian Federation are not subject to application in a different
interpretation.
Decisions of the Constitutional Court are obligatory
throughout the territory of the Russian Federation for all representative,
executive and judicial bodies of state power, local self-government,
enterprises, agencies, organisations, public officials, citizens and their
associations.