Temporary restrictions have been introduced in the work of Russian courts starting from 19 March 2020

Pepeliaev Group advises that the Russian Supreme Court has introduced restrictions within the framework of preventing the spread of the coronavirus infection in Russia.

The Praesidium’s Resolution which significantly restricts of the work of Russian Courts has been published on the website of the Russian Supreme Court. In particular from 19 March until 10 April 2020 the following restrictions will be in force:

• personal appointments in courts will be suspended. If needed, documents can be filed electronically or using the Russian Postal Service;
• courts will consider only cases of an urgent nature (on choosing, extending, cancelling or amending a preventive measure, on protecting the interests of an under-age person or a person who has been declared legally incapable according to the procedure prescribed by law, if a lawful representative refuses a medical intervention necessary to save a person’s life, etc.) and cases under an expedited proceedings regime and a summary proceedings regime;
• If technically feasible, cases will be considered using video conferencing systems;
• all judges and administrative staff of courts must isolate themselves when having even the slightest signs of illness;
• access to courts for persons who are not involved in court proceedings will be restricted.

What to think about and what to do

Taking into account the restrictions introduced in the work of courts it should be expected that court hearings scheduled within the period from 19 March until 10 April 2020 will be postponed, and the total timeframe for the consideration of cases will be increased.

We recommend monitoring hearings and contacting court staff in order to clarify the situation (confirm the fact that a hearing has been postponed and to specify the new date of the hearing).

There is a possibility that court summonses concerning new dates of hearings will be delivered with a delay. In this regard we recommend tracking the appointment schedule for court hearings on the website of the relevant court and not missing notifications in text messages which the court might send to the representatives of the parties with their consent.