Newborn justice: Russian Constitutional Court celebrates anniversary

As Russia’s Constitutional Court marks its 20th anniversary, RT spoke to Gleb Bogush, a law professor at Moscow State University, about the judicial body’s modernization.

To celebrate the occasion, President Dmitry Medvedev invited all of the court’s judges to the Kremlin, where he thanked them for their work and called the Constitutional Court a symbol of democracy and a defense against totalitarianism.

Russia’s Constitutional Court consists of 19 judges appointed by the Federation Council. Its mission is to protect the Constitution from laws and decrees contradicting it.

The judicial system in Russia is now being radically modernized. The process initiated by Medvedev aims to eradicate corruption form the courts.

Among other measures, Medvedev has proposed an independent system for examining the candidacy of each candidate for the bench.

“This initiative is very much welcome, because it contributes to the independence and efficiency of the Russian judicial system,” Bogush told RT. “Now we are appointing judges through examination commissions that function within the system of state qualification commissions. They consist of court judges, and very often these judges come from the court that appoints and examines the candidates. Sometimes candidates know their examiners. It creates a closed system. The reform will improve its efficiency, independency and impartiality.”

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