Legal Reform in Russia: The Process of Creating a New Legal System
Russian society is in transition from communism to democracy. All sides of social life — political, economic, and cultural — have been affected by radical changes. Law in Russia bears the signs of these changes as well as participates in the struggle for human rights, rule of law, and the development of the new society. One of the crucial elements in this movement is legal reform. Adopting new structures of federal powers, establishing the Constitutional Court, introducing jury trials, adopting a new Civil Code, Criminal Code and numerous other laws supporting economic and political reforms, lead to radical changes in all spheres of social life as well as in the legal profession, including the judiciary, and legal education. This seminar will focus on the key points of the legal reform process in Russia, with references to other countries in transition, and explore new developments in constitutional law, criminal law and procedure, civil law and procedure, intellectual property, private international law, and the regulation of foreign investment. None of these can be explained without first understanding the new approaches in the Russian theory of state and law. Particular attention will be given to questions of practical implementation of the new legislation and the rise of judicial power. Previous study of comparative law is helpful but is not a prerequisite. Paper required