“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 verificationof court rulings by way of supervision, is an independent and exceptional stage of thejudicial process. Its exclusivity is due to the special grounds stipulated in law for thecancelation of judgment and the procedure for such a review. An analysis of Russianlegislation and practice of Russian courts reviewing cases on new circumstances witha particular foreign characteristic shows the significance of this stage of the process forrelations with a foreign participant (“element”). Since a foreign court decision may be anew circumstance in these cases, the article deals with the issues related to the effectof foreign court decisions on the Russian territory. The general tendency to expand andsimplify the recognition of foreign court decisions, obviously, expands the possibilitiesof its considering as new circumstances when reviewing court cases. This should notmean a reduction in the requirements for compliance with the conditions of recognitionestablished 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 asa new circumstance for compliance with the established conditions for its recognition isnecessary, regardless of whether the interested party filed objections to recognition orrequest for “confirmation” of the decision in Russia. The specifics of the proceedings forthe revision of cases under new circumstances, leading to a change in the act of justicewhich has been already in force in the Russian Federation (the decision of the Russiancourt) on the basis of a foreign decision, requires a special approach to assessing thedecision of a foreign court, considered as a new circumstance. The revision of civil courtsin 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 ofparticipants in the judicial process, regardless of their citizenship.
For citation: Marysheva N.I., Schukin A.N. (2019) “Foreign Element” in Revising Court Decisions Because of New Circumstances: Russian Legislation and Court Practice. Pravo. Zhurnal Vysshey shkoly ekonomiki, no 2, pp. 163–188 (in Russian) DOI: 10.17-323/2072-8166.2019.2.163.188