Arbitrazh vs General Jurisdiction Courts

Russia has two parallel court systems for private disputes. Arbitrazh courts hear economic cases between companies and entrepreneurs. Courts of general jurisdiction hear everything else involving individuals: family, labour, housing, consumer and criminal cases. Filing in the wrong system does not ruin a claim, but it costs weeks while the case is returned or transferred.

Attorney Elena Petrova regularly helps foreign clients decide where their dispute belongs before any papers are filed. The comparison below covers the points that matter most for that choice.

Which Court Hears Your Dispute

The test is the nature of the dispute and the status of the parties. A supply contract between two LLCs goes to the arbitrazh court. A loan between two private persons goes to a district or magistrate court. Some categories go to arbitrazh courts whoever the parties are:

• bankruptcy of companies and of individuals;
• corporate disputes, including claims by a shareholder who is a private person;
• challenges to decisions of state bodies affecting business activity.

An inheritance of company shares can therefore land in two courts: the heirs' dispute over the estate in a general court, and a dispute with the company itself in an arbitrazh court.

How Proceedings Differ in Practice

Arbitrazh procedure is governed by the Arbitrazh Procedure Code (APK), the general courts by the Civil Procedure Code (GPK). For most money claims between businesses, the APK requires a pre-trial claim letter and a waiting period of thirty days before filing. General courts demand pre-trial steps only in certain categories.

Arbitrazh courts rely heavily on written evidence and electronic filing through the My Arbitr system. Case files and hearing dates are public on kad.arbitr.ru. General courts publish case data on their own websites within the sudrf.ru system, and hearings tend to involve more witness testimony.

Who May Represent You

In arbitrazh courts, every representative must hold a higher legal education or a law degree. In general courts, the same rule applies except in magistrate and district courts. A foreign company or individual can act through a Russian advokat under a power of attorney signed abroad, apostilled and translated.

Timelines at First Instance

By law, an arbitrazh court should resolve a case within three months of receiving the claim, with a possible extension in complex matters. The general rule in the GPK is two months. In practice, both terms stretch when expert examinations are ordered or parties abroad must be notified.

Simplified proceedings on documents only are available in both systems for smaller claims and are much faster.

The Appeal Ladder in Each System

Each stage has its own deadlines, and missing one usually closes the next door. A late appeal can be accepted only if the court restores the term for a valid reason.

Enforcement After Judgment

Both systems issue writs of execution that go to bailiffs or directly to the debtor's bank. Arbitrazh judgments against companies are often enforced through bank accounts within days of presentation. Judgments against individuals take longer, since bailiffs must locate income and property.

Choosing the Right Forum Before You File

Before drafting a claim, we check the registration status of each party, the contract's jurisdiction clause and whether the dispute touches corporate rights or insolvency. If a debtor is heading into bankruptcy, a separate claim in a general court may become pointless, and the creditor should instead file in the arbitrazh bankruptcy case.

The main channel of communication with the attorney is email: attorneypetrova1@gmail.com.