Appeal to Justice

On Wednesday I finally got to attend Russian court. It was an interesting experience, despite the fact that our actual time in the court room only lasted about three minutes. It turns out that the equivalent of our court of appeals is right around the corner from my apartment (it took me less than two minutes to walk there), and I was able to go with Dasha, the head lawyer from the organization that I am working for.

The Russian Ministry of Justice filed a complaint against our organization and another associated group, claiming that they had both violated the laws governing the structure and activities of NGOs. Both organizations have already won the suits in the trial court and the Ministry of Justice filed an appeal. The other organization has already successfully won the appeal as well, and Wednesday was finally my organization's court date.

I met Dasha outside the building at 11:30 and we went in. The first interesting thing was that the power was out all over the building, so we were walking around in the dark. The oral arguments were scheduled for noon, so we found the chamber where they were supposed to happen and had a seat on a bench in the hallway, along with a bunch of other people. Dasha informed that we may be sitting in the hall all day - she says she has sometimes waited four or five hours past her scheduled time. I looked at the schedule, and the judges in that chamber had eighteen appeals to hear that day, which seems like a lot, so I can imagine how they could get behind schedule. At noon the bailiff came out and announced the judges were going on a break, which also helped me understand how they could get behind schedule, though I imagine they need some breaks when they're hearing so many arguments.

We finally were invited into the chambers about 1:30. There were three judges, just like in a US Court of Appeals, two women and one man. It was a small room with the judges sitting on a raised platform at the front, a table at which both lawyers could sit, a few benches crowded into the back, and a cell along one side. The head judge told the lawyer from the Ministry of Justice that there was a problem with the complaint that had been submitted - it had been written from the incorrect person/perspective. I'm not 100% sure what that means, but that's what I understood him to say, and that was what Dasha said afterwards too. Something along the lines of the complaint was purportedly coming from someone that did not have the authority to file the complaint. So the attorney for the Ministry of Justice needed to amend the complaint and refile. And that was that. I look forward to going again. Hopefully when some arguments are made. Dasha says she usually goes to court about once a week, so I think I will try to go with her every week.

Remember when I talked about Chizhik Pyzhik, the little bird statute that helps students get through unhappy love affairs and around on public transport without tickets? If not, see
http://fromrussiawithlove-loren.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-wish.html

I took a picture the other night of people making wishes. There is always a crowd around this little area dropping change into the canal, hoping it will stay on chizhik pyzhik's little ledge.