The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is a judicial body of constitutional review, which independently exercises judicial power by means of constitutional judicial proceedings.
Powers, rules of the 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.
Composition, procedure of the establishment and term of office
According to the Constitution 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 holding their offices on the day of the entry into force of Article 1 of this Law shall continue to exercise the powers of a judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation until they are terminated 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 Regulation of Certain Issues of the Organisation and Functioning of Public Authority").
Powers of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation
Powers of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation are enumerated in Article 125 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, according to which the Court:
• decides on conformity with the Constitution of the Russian Federation:
- of federal constitutional laws, federal laws, acts of the President, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation;
- of constitutions of republics, charters, laws and other normative acts of territorial entities of the Russian Federation adopted within the jurisdiction of the bodies of state power of the Russian Federation and shared jurisdiction of the bodies of state power of the Russian Federation and the bodies of state power of territorial entities of the Russian Federation;
- of agreements between bodies of State power of the Russian Federation, between bodies of State power and constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as between supreme bodies of state power of constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
- of international treaties which have not come into force;
• Resolves competence disputes;
• Upon complaints about violations of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens, verifies the constitutionality of a law which has been applied in a specific case, shall all the other national means of legal protection be exhausted, and upon request by courts verifies the constitutionality of a law which ought to be applied in a specific case;
• Interprets the Constitution of the Russian Federation;
• Upon request by the President of the Russian Federation exercises a priori constitutional control of laws, including laws on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation;
• Resolves the issue of possibility of execution of interstate bodies decisions, adopted on the ground of provisions of international treaties of the Russian Federation in the interpretation contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and of possibility of execution of a foreign or international (interstate) court decision, foreign or international arbitration court decision, obliging the Russian Federation, in case such a decision contradict public order foundations of the Russian Federation;
• Rules on the observance of a prescribed procedure for charging the President of the Russian Federation with high treason or other grave offense;
Moreover, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation reviews constitutionality of issues put to the referendum.
Organisation of constitutional adjudication
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation considers and decides cases in sessions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation in public hearings and in cases and under the procedure established in Article 47.1 of the Federal Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation – without holding public hearings.
Apparatus of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation
Activities of the Constitutional Court are supplied by the Apparatus of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation