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A meeting of judges of general jurisdiction, military and arbitration courts of the Russian Federation was held in Moscow on February 20. Traditionally, the participants summarized the results of the Russian judicial system's activities over the past year and discussed priority tasks for the current year.

The meeting was attended by judges of the Supreme Court, courts of general jurisdiction and arbitration courts, the heads of the Judicial Department at the Supreme Court of Russia, and representatives of federal authorities.

The event was opened by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The President  highly appreciated the work of the Supreme Court of Russia and the entire judiciary.

“I would like to emphasise that the effectiveness of the judicial authority (it is absolutely obvious to you and me) and people’s trust in it depend on profound knowledge, competence, and high professionalism of everyone who is involved in legal proceedings, and above all, judges themselves.”

The President noted that in 2024 more than 42 million cases were considered in all types of legal proceedings, and almost everywhere court cases were resolved with high quality and within reasonable time. “On the initiative of the Supreme Court, a number of significant decisions have been made that aim to further improve the quality of justice and streamline judges’ workload,” the President added.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Irina Podnosova delivered a report on main areas of work of the Russian courts in 2024.

The head of Russia's highest court noted the great legislative work of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation: “The Supreme Court is actively involved in lawmaking process on a wide range of issues. Thus, in 2024, realizing the right of legislative initiative, the Supreme Court submitted five bills to the State Duma aimed at improvement of justice”.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Russia confirmed with specific examples that an important place in judicial practice is occupied by cases on the protection of social rights of citizens. “The social focus of justice is ensured, including in cases on the protection of pension rights of citizens, in 2024, 84 percent of claims in this category of cases were satisfied,” said Irina Podnosova.

Addressing the issues of practice in economic disputes, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Russia explained that over 1 million 800 thousand cases were considered by arbitration courts during the reporting period. Irina Podnosova drew attention to the fact that a significant part, about one fifth, of the structure of economic disputes are bankruptcy cases of citizens and organizations. More than 400 thousand such cases were considered, including more than 2 million 750 thousand separate disputes within these cases.

Regarding criminal cases, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Russia explained that in 2024, 670 thousand criminal cases were considered against 679 thousand persons, which is 9 percent less than in 2023.

“The most important indicator of the work of the courts remains the practice of application of preventive measures. Thus, in 2024, the courts received 97 thousand petitions for the selection of a preventive measure in the form of detention in custody, of which 88 percent were satisfied, and 172 thousand petitions to extend the period of detention in custody,” she said.

In addition, Irina Podnosova drew attention to the fact that the Supreme Court, following an assignment from the President of the Russian Federation, had drafted a federal law proposing to limit significantly the possibility of detaining suspects and accused of committing crimes of minor gravity and non-violent crimes of medium gravity, as well as minors and women with young children.

In her speech, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Russia noted that in 2024 significant attention was paid to the development of international judicial dialog. It was significant that the Supreme Court of Russia organized the Forum of BRICS Supreme Court Chief Justices.

In conclusion, Irina Podnosova expressed her gratitude  to the President of Russia for the support and attention to the judicial system of the Russian Federation.