“Foreign Element” in Revising Court Decisions on New Circumstances: Russian Legislation and Court Practice

Abstract

Court revision of cases on new or newly discovered circumstances, as well as verification of court rulings by way of supervision, is an independent and exceptional stage of the judicial process. Its exclusivity is due to the special grounds stipulated in law for the cancelation of judgment and the procedure for such a review. An analysis of Russian legislation and practice of Russian courts reviewing cases on new circumstances with a particular foreign characteristic shows the significance of this stage of the process for relations with a foreign participant (“element”). Since a foreign court decision may be a new circumstance in these cases, the article deals with the issues related to the effect of foreign court decisions on the Russian territory. The general tendency to expand and simplify the recognition of foreign court decisions, obviously, expands the possibilities of its considering as new circumstances when reviewing court cases. This should not mean a reduction in the requirements for compliance with the conditions of recognition established in an international treaty and in legislation. By the opinion of the authors, verification by the court in the process of reviewing a foreign court case considered as a new circumstance for compliance with the established conditions for its recognition is necessary, regardless of whether the interested party filed objections to recognition or request for “confirmation” of the decision in Russia. The specifics of the proceedings for the revision of cases under new circumstances, leading to a change in the act of justice which has been already in force in the Russian Federation (the decision of the Russian court) on the basis of a foreign decision, requires a special approach to assessing the decision of a foreign court, considered as a new circumstance. The revision of civil courts in one way or another connected with foreign law and order by Russian courts should facilitate the proper justice and fair judgments protecting the rights and interests of participants in the judicial process, regardless of their citizenship.