Timoshin VKKS biography

Photo: FAPRF. It was held on the eve of the X All -Russian Congress of Judges. Timoshin in his report touched on issues regarding the patterns of relations between the judge and the judicial community. R publishes the text of the report with minimal reductions. Last month, the GDS personnel filter conducted a seminar-meeting with the chairmen of colleges, which showed all the growing concern of the chairmen of the colleges, and the chairmen of the courts as a whole in the issue of personnel support.

In significant cutting off - I deliberately use this word - applicants at various stages of consideration of their questionnaires. In the manifestation of excessive demands on issues that are not related to the professional activity of the judge. The qualification collegium of judges as a judicial community and a judge are almost inextricable. They directly interact: from receiving primary documents for recommendations by the candidate for a vacant position to termination of powers and later to the termination of the judge’s resignation.

A special opinion is given today to the recommendations of applicants for the appointment or reassignment to a vacant position. An effective independent judicial system, the trust of a civil society against judges and judicial acts depend on the qualitative selection of the candidate. This direction is the most priority in our activities. But also the most difficult to make a decision.

Such activities are associated with the work of the filter, which outlines harmful and undesirable elements that can harm the whole body. And in our case, the entire judicial system of the Russian Federation. I will give several digits. From this number, candidates for the positions of judges are recommended by applicants. But behind the numbers, the results of the work of those colleges are hidden, although their small number of them, after giving the recommendations of which almost all candidates are appointed by judges.

We regularly publish their experience in the selection of candidates on the pages of the VKKS messenger. Hence the conclusion. Colleges are correctly received, which not only establish the compliance of the applicant and the documents submitted by him with the regulatory requirements for the status of judges of the Russian Federation, the legislation on counteracting corruption, on military duty and service, etc.

For example, relations with your loved ones and others, the attitude to the chosen profession and to duty. This position of qualifications is supported by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. He repeatedly expressed that the decision of the KKS on the recommendation of a particular citizen for the post of judge is based, first of all, on the individual assessment of this citizen as the requirements for candidates for the relevant vacant position of the judge in particular, which is relevant on personal and professional qualities.

At the same time, colleges have a certain discretion in decision -making on the recommendation of a citizen to the post of judge, by virtue of which the absence of grounds established by law for refusing to recommend a judge does not entail automatic decision on the recommendation of his judge. The judge should not be a destructive and selfish person should agree with the statements that, unfortunately, there are not completely ideal people.

But there should not be a judge who has destructive qualities, such as irresponsibility, self -interest, arrogance, lack of respect for others, unwillingness to maintain knowledge and his authority at a high level, as well as to see disadvantages in his activities and in his communication. In order to find out these circumstances, colleges study the documents submitted by applicants, materials of verification measures, ask the applicant during the meeting questions or ask to give written explanations on one or another fact of his biography.

And it will be important here not only what the applicant will answer, but also how truthfully and honestly he will do it. For example, a frequent issue discussed at a meeting of the board is the problem of compliance by the applicant for the legislation on military duty and military service. In this regard, the collegium makes requests to the military commissariats, the bodies of the military prosecutor's office.

They, in turn, conduct an appropriate verification and make an opinion. In conclusions, information may contain that the applicant for unidentified reasons did not have the right to defer from the draft for military service or was untimely on military registration. Initially, these reasons were a non -alternative basis for refusing to appoint a judge, without taking into account the provisions of the legislation on military duty and military service, relations of the military enlistment office to draft events, and in general, without taking into account the situation in the country at the time when the judge was a conscript.

Colleges analyze the causes of such violations through the prism of person’s behavior.And only if it is established that the explanations of the applicant will be contradictory or the voiced reason will indicate his irresponsible attitude to the execution of military duty, then this may become the basis for refusing to give a recommendation for the position of judge. The preventive fight against corruption of another function of the KKS, which, I believe, is successfully implemented at the stage of personnel selection of judges, is an assessment of compliance by applicants for the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation on combating corruption.

It would seem that part 2 of Article 3 of the Law “On the Status of Judges of the Russian Federation” gives a clear definition of the concepts of a conflict of interests, the personal interest of the judge, and also regulates the actions of the judge in the event of a conflict of interest. In addition, the algorithms of the actions of judges in these situations are spelled out in the procedural codes.

However, the desire to expand the limits of these concepts to infinity gives rise to a lot of cases of refusal incomprehensible to the judicial community in the appointment of candidates for judges. Including judges who are denied appointments. For example, the candidate has a characteristic with whom he has not communicated, does not maintain relations with him, but the characteristic works in an organization participating in the case.

Purely under the concept of “potential conflict of interests”, cases that cause surprise are summarized. For example, a relative works as a lawyer and can do business in this administrative area. Or a highly qualified lawyer cannot be a judge of the Arbitration Court, since he participated in this court as a party in the case. Or a prosecutor’s office cannot be appointed a judge in his area ...

As a result-criticism of colleges about preference to the recommendations to employees of court apparatus, and not practitioners. Qualification colleges carry out a whole range of verification measures, to which they are guided by the Code of Judicial Ethics, the methodological recommendations for the implementation of the CCC norms of the legislation on counteracting corruptions approved by the VKKS in January of the year in pursuance of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of April 1 of the year.

In particular, colleges monitor information about the cases considered by judges, posted on the Internet sites of courts, in GAS “Justice” and others. They propose to submit written information about the cases considered by applicants with the participation of their close relatives and organizations in which they work, as well as characteristics.

And also if necessary, request job descriptions, charters and other documents on the basis of which relatives carry out labor activities. Qualification colleges request information about whether the court that the candidate claims was considered, cases involving the organization in which the relatives of the candidate work. In relation to applicants from the current judges, the KKS also assess the existence or absence of contracts entailing financial obligations with persons in official dependence on the judge.

As well as with persons who are participants in the trial in cases in its proceedings. They evaluate the compliance by the judge in the execution of their powers of the procedures provided for by procedural legislation in order to protect the judge from suspicions of bias and bias. If cases of consideration by applicants for cases with the participation of persons who are close, or with the participation of citizens or legal entities with whom the judge and his close relatives are related to financial or other obligations, the KKS, as a rule, answer a number of questions.

Basically, there is a conflict of interest in a specific situation of administration of justice. And therefore, whether the behavior of a judge participating in the consideration of such a case corresponds to the requirements of professional ethics. The qualifications of the collegium conduct an analysis of the content of the court decisions in cases in which the organization was taken by the relatives of the Presidential referee.

For example, on the subject of the presence of a situation that casts doubt on its objectivity, justice and impartiality. In some cases, colleges recommend applicants for the submission of documents to contact the Council of Judges or Commission of the Council of Judges who are engaged in the implementation of measures to counteract corruption, resolve the conflict of interests in extra -budget relations and in the execution of their powers in order to obtain an opinion on their issue.

The commission is usually carried out a thorough verification and a conclusion is made on the presence or absence of a conflict of interest in the performance of the duties of a judge. The conclusion is attached to the documents submitted to the competition and is considered at meetings of the collegiums. The VKKS positively evaluates the presentation of such conclusions, since the goals and objectives of the Council of Judges and the qualifications are united.

Including in personnel support of judicial activity, approval of the authority of the judiciary, ensuring the fulfillment by the judges of the requirements presented by the Code of Judicial Ethics.This is stated in the Law "On the bodies of the judicial community of the Russian Federation." At the same time, it should be noted that in the qualifications of the collectiveness there is sometimes a consensus on the uniformity of the application and interpretation of the norms on countering corruption, which can lead to certain violations and incorrect understanding of the provisions of the legislation.

New methods and Bangalore principles would like to note that as such a template for the relations of the judicial community and the judge needs further improvement. And consists in taking measures aimed at the effective formation of the judicial corps, which can be carried out both by making changes and additions to the relevant norms, and the development of relevant methodological recommendations, their improvement.

For example, on issues related to the settlement of a conflict of interests related to the execution of judges of their powers, as well as with their appointment to the position, the VKKS, within the framework of its authority in September this year, approved the answers to the questions of the chairmen of the qualifications. The VKKS also works on the updating of the mentioned methodological recommendations.

Such work may, in my opinion, should be carried out with the participation of the entire legal community - both practitioners and theorists. The criteria that we can and should be guided by are set out in the Bangalore principles of judges behavior here - L. R, where it is briefly said that the judge cannot participate in the consideration of the case, if it is not possible for him to make an objective decision on the case, or in the case when the third -party observer could have doubts about the impartial judge.