Book on Judicial Review under Russian Law Legal Defence of Citizens’ Rights against Unconstitutional Laws

Until 1993 those under the Soviet and then Russian jurisdictions did not have any legal remedy against unconstitutional laws. The lack of access to court was due primarily to the fact that under Soviet law judges did not have the authority to create law, including the power to review acts of the government. As a distinguished comparative scholar observed, “The supremacy of the legislative in the Soviet Union and the absence of any power of judicial review over the constitutionality of acts means that… the courts are charged with the application of legislation to cases” (R. David, Major Legal Systems in the World Today, p. 51). As such, the Soviet-Russian legal system has missed out on the development that other countries under common and civil legal systems underwent during the XX century – the constitutional development and judicial review.

The new Russian Constitution of 1993 and subsequent legislation introduced a movement toward constitutionality and promulgated the right of citizens to challenge any unconstitutional law in courts. Did this mean that Russian judges were now finally granted the authority to create law?

In his book on judicial review in Russia Anton Burkov explores the history and recent developments of judicial review in the legal system of the Russian Federation. The main conclusion of the author: Russian judges create new ‘negative’ law when exercising the authority of judicial review.

The book is based on the litigation activities of many Russian NGOs as well as the author’s own practice as a staff attorney with the Urals Centre for Constitutional and International Human Rights Protection of the NGO Sutyajnik (www.sutyajnik.ru).

Book: A. Burkov, Legal Defence of Citizens’ Rights against Unconstitutional Laws, (Yekaterinburg, Ural University Press, 2005). 180 p. (Judicial Practice and Human Rights series; Vol. 2). ISBN 5-7525-1452-5

Author: Anton Burkov, LLB (Urals State Law Academy), LLM (University of Essex), PhD candidate in law (University of Cambridge)

The book is in Russian.

- For more details on the book in Russian please follow the link http://www.sutyajnik.ru/rus/library/sborniki/sud_zasch

- The entire text of the book is available online at http://www.sutyajnik.ru/rus/library/sborniki/sud_zasch/book.pdf (PDF file, 542 Kb)

- A free copy of the book can be ordered online at http://www.sutyajnik.ru/rus/library/sborniki/sud_zasch/zakaz.htm

- The first volume of the series Judicial Practice and Human Rights The Russian Constitution – 10 Years of Implementation (Collected Cases on the 10-year Implementation of the Russian Constitution) is available online at http://sutyajnik.ru/eng/june_2004_update.html#6

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