The Russian Constitutional Reform 2020 and Judicial Power: Independence and Autonomy

Abstract

This article studies the content and results of the Russian constitutional reform in 2020, initiated by the President of the Russian Federation, which aimed to change the aspects of the public authorities’ functioning. The main goal of this research paper is to analyze the content of the constitutional amendments, which directly affected the Russian Judicial Power. The author systematizes and analyzes the constitutional amendments, which have reformed the Russian system of public power, initially established by the Russian Constitution in 1993. The research focuses on the status and real role of the judiciary in the modern system of separation of powers in Russia. The Russian Constitutional Reform 2020 is studied on the basis of traditional methods of scientific research and by the use of special legal research methods (historical and legal, comparative legal and formal legal analysis). The author concludes that the constitutional amendments of 2020 have actually entailed a real reform of the judiciary. Firstly, there was an unreasonable and unmotivated reduction in the number of judges of the Constitutional Court of Russia (from 19 to 11 people); the author believes that the actual number of judges in the future may drop to 6. Secondly, the competence of the Russian Constitutional Court has significantly changed, which entrusted this constitutional body with quasi-political powers to conduct preliminary abstract normative control of acts that have not entered into legal force, which de-facto draws the Court into the legislative process and negatively affects the possibility to challenge the constitutionality of such normative acts in the future by the submission of constitutional complaint. Thirdly, in the course of the constitutional reform of 2020, the procedure for terminating the powers of judges was revised, and now judges can be removed from their posts on the initiative of the Russian President with the formal support of the Federation Council. The author comes to the general conclusion that the Russian Constitutional Reform 2020 has weakened the judicial power, compared with other branches of power.