Chief Editor's Note on the Judicial Systems in the Brics Countries

• Author: D. Maleshin
• Position: Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia)
• Pages: 5-7

BRICS LAW JOURNAL Volume III (2016) Issue 3

CHIEF EDIToR’S noTE on THE JuDICIaL SYSTEMS

In THE BRICS CounTRIES

DMITRY MALESHIN,

Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia)

DOI: 10.21684/2412-2343-2016-3-3-5-7

Recommended citation: Dmitry Maleshin, Chief Editor’s Note on the Judicial Systems

in the BRICS Countries, 3(3) BRICS Law Journal 5–7 (2016).

Motivated by the idea of extending and strengthening cooperation between

their court systems, in 2015 the BRICS countries held the BRICS Justice Forum in

Sanya, Hainan Province, China. Their joint statement at the conclusion of the Forum

announced, “The Supreme Courts of BRICS are willing to improve the mechanism

for regular cooperation and wide -ranging exchanges under the framework of the

Protocol of Intent among the BRICS Countries’ Supreme Courts to improve the level

of justice and to better protect and serve the economic and social development of

their countries.” The problem is that the court systems in the BRICS countries are

very dierent from each other.

The following snapshots of the court systems of the BRICS countries provide

a glimpse at the measure of the dierence and hint at the degree of the problem.

The Brazilian judiciary comprises federal, state and municipal courts. There are

also some special courts that deal with labor and election matters: the Superior

Labor Court, created in 1946, and the Superior Electoral Court, established in 1932.

The National Justice Council exercises the power of administrative and disciplinary

control over the Brazilian judiciary.

The Russian judi ciary is regulate d by spe cial chapter 7 “Judi ciary” of the

Constitution as well as by the special laws “On the Judicial System” (1996), “On Courts

of General Jurisdiction” (2011), “On Commercial Courts” (1995) and “On the Status of

Judges in the Russian Federation” (1992).

Today the Russian civil judiciary is composed of the courts of general jurisdiction,

military courts, commercial courts and the Intellectual Property Court. The main law