Public activists will be able to be excluded from the qualification boards of judges for having a second citizenship or a foreign agency
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Members of the qualification boards of judges from the public are proposed to be deprived of their powers if they have foreign citizenship, a residence permit or the status of a foreign agent. The draft corresponding amendments to the federal law “On the Bodies of the Judicial Community” were approved by the Saratov Regional Duma and will be submitted to the federal parliament.
The draft amendments to the federal law “On the Bodies of the Judicial Community” were prepared by a group of deputies of the Saratov Regional Duma, including representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, LDRP, SRZP, as well as United Russia, including Speaker Mikhail Isaev. The authors propose to adjust the article regulating the procedure for the formation of qualification boards of judges (QBs). We are talking, in particular, about the selection of members of the boards from representatives of the public.
The QCC consists of judges who are elected by secret ballot at conferences, meetings and congresses of judges, usually for a term of three years. Their powers include the selection of candidates for judicial positions, the suspension or termination of such powers and the assignment of awards and titles to representatives of the judicial corps. Regional boards may consist of 11 or 21 members, depending on the number of courts in the territory of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. In addition to judges of courts of general jurisdiction of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, arbitration and garrison courts, it includes two or seven representatives of the public, as well as one representative of the President of the Russian Federation. The Higher Qualification Board consists of 29 members, including 10 public activists.
According to the current legislation, judges cannot have foreign citizenship, however, this requirement, the authors of the amendments note, is not fully regulated in relation to members of the QCC from the public.
In the explanatory note, deputies draw attention to the contradiction in federal legislation. The law, on the one hand, requires members of the QCC, when exercising their powers, to exclude everything “that could diminish the authority of the judiciary or raise doubts about the objectivity, fairness or impartiality of these representatives.” On the other hand, there are no mechanisms for influencing social activists in colleges that do not comply with these requirements. In this regard, it was proposed to establish a direct ban on the possession of a member of the KKS – a representative of the public – of foreign citizenship or nationality, a residence permit and other documents that confirm the right of a citizen of the Russian Federation to permanently reside abroad.
The innovation will expand the grounds for early termination of powers of board members. At the moment, in addition to one’s own desire and holding a number of positions, membership in the KKS can be lost for long absences or a conviction that has entered into force. To the mentioned grounds, the authors of the amendments propose to add foreign citizenship, as well as the status of a foreign agent.
The document received a positive opinion in the Saratov Regional Court, as well as in the office of the regional ombudsman. The latter’s review emphasized that one of the legal bases of the project is the law of July 14, 2022 “On control over the activities of persons under foreign influence.”
Presenting the project, deputy Tatyana Erokhina (United Russia) emphasized that the document has already passed the stage of wide public discussion, received the approval of the scientific community, as well as the Council of Legislators at the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The draft amendments were approved by the regional parliament and will be sent to the State Duma.
“Kommersant” asked the Council of Judges of the Russian Federation (an elected body of the judicial community, which is formed by the All-Russian Congress of Judges) to comment on the initiative of regional parliamentarians, but has not yet received a response to the request.
Retired federal judge Sergei Pashin, in a conversation with Kommersant, did not recall examples of the presence of foreign citizenship or a residence permit, as well as the status of a foreign agent among public activists in the KKS.
“The proposal is justified from the point of view of the logic of lawmaking,” Mr. Pashin believes. “It equalizes all members of the QCC, since the judges included in these commissions are already bound by similar obligations.”
Senior lawyer at YurTechConsult Anastasia Lysenko points out that public representatives in the qualification boards of judges are appointed by legislative bodies (federal or regional): “This authority is a manifestation of the form of participation of representative bodies of state power in the formation of the judiciary. Accordingly, legislative bodies may reject one or another candidate even at the stage of selection and appointment.” Norm clause 8 art. 11 of the Law on the Bodies of the Judicial Community indicates the inadmissibility of defamatory actions of a member of the panel in the exercise of powers, “that is, it acts rather as a form of post-control,” adds Ms. Lysenko, “at the same time, the presence of a second citizenship or residence permit does not automatically refute the impartiality of a member of the panel.” . “In addition, given that we are talking about a collegial body that makes decisions by a majority of the votes present, it is unlikely that the position of the persons who want to be excluded from the boards can greatly influence the decisions made,” believes Anastasia Lysenko.
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