Parliamentarians are urging a review of soaring court fees that threaten citizens' access to justice. With costs skyrocketing, many fear their constitutional rights are at risk. Discover ...
Lawmakers have requested the Constitutional Court (CC) to examine a case through abstract judicial review, meaning it would be considered independently of any specific court case. According to the law, at least 90 signatures from deputies are required to support such a request. The petition sent to the CC on November 14 was initiated by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), with support from the "Just Russia – For Truth" faction, several members of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), and two independent deputies.
It is worth noting that since September 9, court fees for individuals and legal entities have increased: for example, the fee for filing a divorce petition now stands at 5,000 rubles instead of the previous 600 rubles, while filing a non-property claim will cost 3,000 rubles instead of 300 rubles, and a property claim will be at least 4,000 rubles (when the claim amount is up to 100,000 rubles). The appeal fee for individuals has risen from 150 rubles to 3,000 rubles, and for organizations, from 3,000 rubles to 15,000 rubles. Lastly, the cassation appeal now costs 5,000 rubles for individuals instead of 150 rubles, and for legal entities, 20,000 rubles instead of 3,000 rubles.
The necessity for such an increase has been explained by the Russian government on the grounds that these state duties had not been indexed for 15 years and that the income generated from them covers only 5% of the state expenditures on the judicial system.
Moreover, the "increased costs" of disputes, as hoped by the White House, will alleviate the burden on judges and reduce the scale of litigation. The Supreme Court (SC) described the initiative as "relevant and timely," emphasizing that fees should not fully compensate for the costs of the judicial system, but raising the rates will allow for continued work towards creating more comfortable conditions for all participants in the process. Additionally, going to court will become the last line of defense, "the use of which is advisable when other (extrajudicial) dispute resolution tools have been exhausted," noted the SC. At the same time, the law retains all benefits related to the possibility of reducing the fee amount, deferral, installment payments, or exemption from payment, ensuring access to justice for all individuals, the SC emphasized.
The deputies who approached the CC believe that the rise in fees limits citizens' access to justice and thereby infringes upon their constitutional right to judicial protection.
According to Rosstat, the median salary in Russia in 2023 was 46,751 rubles, as noted in the request (the text is available to “Ъ”), and even the minimum fee of 3,000 rubles is a significant amount for many citizens. Completing all the steps necessary to appeal to the CC will cost, according to the applicants' calculations, 25,000 rubles (the fee for submitting an application to the CC itself remains unchanged at 450 rubles for individuals).
Managing partner of "Bartolius" law firm, Yulia Tai, draws attention to the fact that, according to initial data, the new fee structure has already impacted the number of court appeals. On November 11, 2024, the Supreme Court's judicial panel for economic disputes published only 36 judicial acts—according to the official kad.arbitr service, this is the lowest figure in 14 years for the start of the third week of November and is 5.4 times lower than the 2023 figure (195). Currently, the economic panel of the SC is reviewing complaints filed between September 9 and 13, right after the amendments to the Tax Code came into effect, the expert explains.
However, the increase in fees will naturally promote the development of alternative dispute resolution methods: primarily, mediation should be mentioned, which has not yet gained widespread acceptance in our country, argues the managing partner of "Vatamanyuk & Partners" law firm, Vladislav Vatamanyuk. He reminds that this procedure is based on achieving a compromise between the disputing parties and can positively influence not only the stability of civil turnover but also reduce costs.
Anastasia Korya