Russian Legal Glossary: N–R

This part of the glossary covers thirty Russian legal terms from N to R. You will see them in notarial papers, in court decisions and appeals, in claim letters and in criminal case files. Attorney Elena Petrova added short practical notes so that readers abroad know what each term means for their own matter.

Notaries and Inheritance

• Notarius — a notary who certifies deals, powers of attorney and copies and opens inheritance cases.
• Nasledstvo — an estate or inheritance. Heirs usually apply to a notary within six months of the death.
• Nasledodatel — the person who left the estate.
• Obyazatelnaya dolya — the compulsory share that certain relatives receive despite a will.

Parties to a Case

• Otvetchik — the defendant in a civil or commercial case.
• Predstavitel — a representative acting under a power of attorney.
• Podozrevaemy — a suspect before charges are brought.
• Obvinyaemy — the accused, once formally charged.
• Podsudimy — the defendant in a criminal trial.
• Poterpevshy — the victim of a crime, with own procedural rights.

Court Acts and Their Review

• Reshenie suda — a court decision on the merits of a civil case.
• Opredelenie — a court ruling on a procedural or interim question.
• Postanovlenie — a resolution of an investigator, a judge or a higher court.
• Prigovor — a verdict and sentence in a criminal case.
• Obzhalovanie — challenging a court act or an official's action.
• Plenum — the plenary session of the Supreme Court whose resolutions guide lower courts.

Before and Outside Court

• Pretenziya — a written claim letter demanding payment or performance before suing.
• Otsrochka — deferral of payment or of enforcement, granted by the court.
• Rassrochka — payment of a debt in instalments set by the court.

Investigation and Prosecution

• Prokuror — the prosecutor who oversees investigators and presents the charge in court.
• Obysk — a search of premises, normally on a court order.
• Protokol — the official record of a hearing, search or questioning; read it before signing.
• Rozysk — a search for a person, including an international wanted notice.

Property and Family Matters

• Razdel imushchestva — division of marital property.
• Rastorzhenie braka — divorce, through the civil registry or a court.
• Privatizatsiya — transfer of a state flat into private ownership.
• Obremenenie — an encumbrance on property recorded in EGRN.
• Nedeystvitelnaya sdelka — an invalid transaction. Under the Civil Code it is either void from the start or voidable by a court on a claim of the affected party.

Which Court and Who Decides

• Podsudnost — which court hears a case, by subject and by place. A contract can change the place for some disputes, but not exclusive jurisdiction.
• Prisyazhnye zasedateli — jurors who decide guilt in certain grave criminal cases at the request of the accused.

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