Russian Litigation Process Terms

These 30 terms follow a Russian lawsuit from filing to final review: isk, zasedanie, opredelenie, reshenie, apellyatsiya and others. They come from two procedural codes. The Civil Procedure Code (GPK RF) governs courts of general jurisdiction, and the Arbitration Procedure Code (APK RF) governs commercial courts.

Attorney Elena Petrova represents clients from California in Russian courts, and this list mirrors the words they see in court papers.

The Parties and Their Roles

• Istets — the claimant who files the case.
• Otvetchik — the defendant.
• Tretye litso — a third party whose rights the ruling may affect.
• Predstavitel — a representative acting under a doverennost (power of attorney). A document signed abroad needs an apostille and a certified translation.

Starting the Case

• Isk — a claim. Iskovoe zayavlenie is the written statement of claim.
• Podsudnost — which court hears the case, by subject and by location.
• Arbitrazhny sud — a state commercial court for disputes between businesses. It is not private arbitration.
• Gosposhlina — the state filing fee, based on the claim amount.
• Pretenzionny poryadok — the pre-trial demand stage, required in most commercial cases.
• Obespechitelnye mery — interim measures, such as freezing the defendant's accounts or property.

Hearings and Evidence

• Predvaritelnoe zasedanie — a preliminary hearing to set the scope of the dispute.
• Sudebnoe zasedanie — the main hearing on the merits.
• Izveshchenie — formal notice of a hearing. Improper notice is a ground to cancel the ruling.
• Khodataystvo — a motion, for example to call a witness or order an expert.
• Otzyv — the defendant's written response to the claim.
• Sudebnaya ekspertiza — a court-appointed expert examination.
• Protokol — the record of the hearing, often with an audio file.

Court Acts

• Opredelenie — a ruling on a procedural issue, such as accepting the claim.
• Reshenie — the judgment on the merits.
• Motivirovannoe reshenie — the full written judgment with reasons, often issued days after the operative part.
• Zaochnoe reshenie — a default judgment in a general court when the defendant does not appear.
• Sudebny prikaz — a court order issued without a hearing on undisputed debts.
• Mirovoe soglashenie — a court-approved settlement that can be enforced like a judgment.

Review of a Judgment

• Vstuplenie v zakonnuyu silu — the moment a judgment becomes final and enforceable.
• Apellyatsiya — appeal to a higher court.
• Kassatsiya — cassation review of final acts, on points of law.
• Chastnaya zhaloba — a complaint against an opredelenie.

Tracking a Case Online

Commercial cases appear on kad.arbitr.ru. General court cases are listed on each court's page within sudrf.ru. The case card shows hearing dates and the acts issued. Check it often, since a missed date can cost you the right to appeal.

Taking Part From California

You do not need to fly to Russia for most hearings. A representative with a valid power of attorney can file claims, attend hearings and appeal. Some courts allow video participation. Send your documents early, as translation and apostille take time.

Elena Petrova explains each court act in English and tells you which deadline is running.

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