Complaint against a judge: samples, instances of appeal, filing procedure

Judges handle absolutely any court case, from small housing disputes to major criminal cases. These are specialists who study the case materials, consider the available evidence, order various examinations and do everything to make a fair decision on the case. The list of powers of judges is extremely long, as is the responsibility they bear.

But a judge is also a person, and he, too, can take incorrect and sometimes even illegal actions during the consideration of a case. In this regard, the question arises: “How to influence an unscrupulous judge?” Our article will tell you about when, how and where to complain about a judge.

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When is it okay to complain?

In order to file a complaint, you will need some valid reason. Moreover, this reason must be directly related to his professional duties and the case he is leading - other complaints must be filed in the standard manner, and not as complaints specifically against the judge.

The main reason for filing a complaint is violations related to the rules and procedures of business. Litigation is a process very strictly limited by law, and deviation from the norms is not only not welcomed, but can even be regarded as an extremely serious violation. So, a complaint against a judge can be filed in the following situations:

You have noticed a violation of the norms established by the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation;
The judge deliberately extends the time limit for conducting the case;
The judge's actions lead to unexpected delays in the consideration of the case;
You noticed significant deviations in the course of the proceedings from the established protocol;
The judge does not take into account any evidence, materials and testimony of witnesses directly related to the case;
The judge does not consider petitions, petitions, appeals and requests to the court related to the case;
The judge is not impartial, takes into account the opinion of only one of the parties, or is related to one of the participants in the case;
The judge has a personal advantage in deciding the case;
The judge behaves inappropriately during hearings, violates ethics and general rules of communication between participants in the case;
The judge commits violations in the process of making a judicial decision;
The judge violates the general order of conducting the case: its stages are swapped, examinations are incorrectly assigned, etc.;
The judge uses profanity and insults the participants in the case;
During the hearing, confidential protected information is disclosed by the judge.

These and many other reasons can provide very valid grounds for filing a complaint. At the same time, depending on the severity of the violation, various penalties are applied: from a simple reprimand to complete removal from the case.

Organization of work with personnel.

Not every person is able to adequately respond to manifestations of dissatisfaction, especially if this manifestation is expressed in a rude form and is not always addressed. Therefore, organizations that value customers teach staff to work with complaints correctly - that is, without aggravating the conflict. The work is carried out in two directions - preventing conflict situations and analyzing them in order to eliminate them.

It is ideal that work with consumers proceeds “without a hitch.” However, many duties are quite complex and it is not always possible to perform them solely “according to the regulations.” In this case, measures to prevent conflict situations are effective.

It is necessary to identify the “weak link” in a particular procedure and develop an algorithm for action in the event that something goes wrong. For example, for reasons depending on the supplier, the production time for the ordered goods may be missed. In this situation, you can either increase the production time, taking into account the “delivery error”, or find a more responsible partner, or warn the client in advance about a possible problem and apologize. But it’s not worth presenting the customer with a fait accompli by blaming “bad guys” - as we said, such excuses are not accepted.

Often, personal factors are added to the production factors that cause conflict. How often do employees complain about customer behavior that is inappropriate from their point of view! So, in the example discussed above, an employee of the clinic, who went out for a short time on a work issue, received an undeserved remark from an angry visitor - the woman fulfilled her duties conscientiously. But even in this case, she, as a representative of a medical institution, did not have the right to respond to rudeness with rudeness, since, as we have already said, a rude response only aggravates the situation.

To prevent rudeness towards customers, many companies use so-called secret shoppers - they send supposedly conflicting customers who deliberately provoke employees and evaluate their response. The next stage in developing “stress resistance” is working with trainers who develop the skills of “correct behavior” among staff. Of course, such methods are too expensive for public sector employees. However, a manager can create patterns of some common conflicts and work to resolve them. Let's say someone is dissatisfied with the absence of a specialist at the workplace - a polite address, an apology, and, if necessary, an explanation will help solve the problem, but in no case should you argue. You can even rehearse the situation by asking two employees to pretend to be a client and an employee, and the rest to suggest possible ways to resolve the conflict.

The manager should also remember that a quick solution to a problem is often hampered by the lack of the necessary authority on the part of the employee. Let's say a client is dissatisfied with the quality of the service provided. The administrator could mitigate the conflict by signing up the visitor to receive this service again immediately, but he does not have the right to do this without the consent of his boss, who is on vacation. Expanding the competencies of workers directly related to service could significantly reduce the number of complaints.

Where to complain

The court is the highest authority, and few civil servants have the authority to consider complaints against judges. Real help can only be provided by:

The leadership of the court, namely its chairman;
Qualification Board of Judges;
Prosecutor's office.

In this case, you don’t have much choice - according to current regulations, complaints should be submitted strictly in order. That is, until the court itself considers your complaint, there is no point in contacting the prosecutor’s office. Moreover, in all three cases the sample of the complaint and the method of its consideration are different.

What you need to know

Keep in mind that the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not oblige the use of a complaint form approved by the Federal Tax Service of Russia. Such a requirement in Art. 139.2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation no. But in order to avoid unnecessary disputes with tax authorities (including pre-trial appeal procedures), it is better to use the tax complaint form approved since 2020.

This document can be sent via telecommunication channels or through the taxpayer’s personal account. When a complaint is sent via TKS, it must be signed with an enhanced electronic signature.

It can also be submitted in writing personally or through a representative.

General rules for filing a complaint

Before talking about specific types of complaints, we need to consider the general basic rules for writing such a document. They can be either specified in the legislation itself or determined by general rules for filing official petitions. You can write your own appeal or complaint against the judge, but it is better to draw up a claim with the help of a lawyer or advocate. So, when filing a complaint, you should remember the following rules:

The appeal can be either typed or handwritten. If you write your complaint by hand, write legibly;
Errors, typos, corrections and blots are not allowed in the complaint;
The information in the complaint must be described briefly, clearly and as clearly as possible;
Extra “water”, speculation, irrelevant or unconfirmed information is not allowed;
Under no circumstances are threats or insults allowed, especially against judges - this is a very serious offence;
Slander is not allowed - it is criminally punishable;
Any information provided in the complaint must be proven in some way;
When drawing up a complaint, you must not only describe the violation in detail, but also indicate the number of the case in which the violation was committed;
When submitting an application, you cannot specify any requirements. The list of penalties applied to judges is very strictly defined by law, so the applicants’ demands are simply not considered. So in the “Please” column you only need to indicate a request for an inspection.

To prove a violation, you will need to provide relevant materials. If you do not have them, then authorized persons will be able to obtain them from the materials of the case itself. But at the same time, any additional evidence will be very useful. The main thing is to provide them correctly. Photos and copies of documents can be attached to the complaint just like that. But it is better to discuss the transmission of audio and video in advance - each service has its own procedure for receiving materials.

Samples

How to deal with a complaint?

Work with dissatisfied customers should be built keeping in mind the three components of the motivation for filing a complaint, discussed above.

Many companies operating in competitive markets, where the competition for consumer attention is especially intense, build and approve an algorithm for handling complaints so as not to miss any opportunities and not make a single mistake. They tailor each procedure to the specifics of their activities. But there are also common components that we will consider.

Complaint to the chairman

If you notice a violation by a judge, then first of all you should contact the chairman of the court. The fact is that the courts have a certain hierarchy, and a complaint to a higher court can be very useful if you need to point out the mistakes of a junior court. That is, if you want to influence the magistrate’s court, you should complain to the chairman of the district court.

There is no sample complaint against a judge to the chairman - this is a free-form statement, and it can look like anything. The main thing is to adhere to the general rules and indicate the following important data:

Who files the complaint;
Who is the complaint against?
What case is being considered in court;
What violation was committed?

In this case, the only measure that the chairman can apply is to impose a penalty. At first glance, this is not a very serious measure, but it is not so - most judges value their reputation, and such penalties can have extremely negative consequences. So judges, as a rule, do everything to correct these penalties as soon as possible.

Finding out the reason for the dissatisfaction - what exactly they are complaining about.

Not every person can clearly and clearly indicate what specifically does not suit him. It should be remembered that a petition is usually drawn up immediately after an incident, when it is difficult to objectively assess the situation due to a flurry of negative emotions. Let's look at a typical case. A visitor to the clinic filed a complaint about the rudeness of an employee issuing sick leave certificates. But the real problem lies in the “backstory”: in the 30-minute queue at the reception desk, where the computer constantly froze, in the hour-long wait for an appointment with the doctor (since this specialist was on his first day back from vacation). Before the man began to receive a certificate of incapacity for work, the employee left her office for a few minutes to take work documents. Upon her return, she was presented with rude complaints, which caused an appropriate reaction. The result is a complaint about improper treatment. However, we see that in this case the person was dissatisfied with the work of the entire clinic, and the conflict with the employee simply overwhelmed his patience. In fact, the visitor “craves satisfaction,” but not because of the conflict that has arisen, but because of the entire poor organization of the work of the medical institution.

Therefore, before sending a response to a complaint, it is always very important to clarify the situation that caused it to be written. This can be done by contacting the dissatisfied customer and asking additional questions.

Complaint from the panel of judges

The most effective complaint against a judge is a complaint to the Qualification Board of Judges. This is an organization that monitors the activities of judges, the quality of their work and compliance with all standards of business conduct. This is, perhaps, the only service that can hold a judge accountable for a violation he has committed at the request of an ordinary citizen.

The application to the Qualification Board of Judges has a strict form, which has three parts:

Title. It includes:
Information about who is filing the complaint: full name, address, contacts, indication of who he is (plaintiff, defendant, third party);
Information part. Contains:
Data on the case during the consideration of which the violation arose;
A detailed description of the violation committed by the judge;
Requests to hold the judge accountable;
Conclusion. Contains:
Applicant's signature;
Date of filing the complaint.

In order to file a complaint with the Qualification Board of Judges about violations by a judge, you will need to contact the court that is considering the case. The complaint is transmitted to the board through the same employee who receives appeals to the chairman.

Filing and consideration of a complaint

To file a complaint, select a topic that interests you and prepare evidence. Any complaint must be substantiated, so references to legal acts will be relevant. If you have any difficulties in selecting regulatory documents, you can get legal advice on the website.

Nowadays, a complaint can be submitted to almost any authority electronically by filling out a form on the website of the addressee of the document. In any case, we recommend that you adhere to the templates provided in the examples to consider the complaint on its merits. Formal consideration of a complaint, violation of the procedure and deadlines for consideration may lead to the bringing of responsible officials to administrative liability.

Complaint to the prosecutor's office

The last authority that is guaranteed to consider your complaint against the judge and take appropriate measures is the prosecutor's office. As the main organization responsible for the civil rights of all residents of the Russian Federation, the prosecutor's office has the widest range of powers and can hold anyone accountable, even judges.

However, complaining to the prosecutor's office about a violation committed by a judge is not so simple. Firstly, you will need to go through all previous instances of appeal (chairman of the court, qualification board of judges). Secondly, you will need to prove that the measures taken are insufficient and the judge continues to commit violations. Thirdly, you will need to collect a lot of case materials. Fourthly, when considering a case by the prosecutor's office, you will have to constantly participate in the investigation.

The sample application to the prosecutor's office with a complaint against a judge is very similar to the standard application to the prosecutor's office and, at the same time, is not much different from the statements described above. It has three parts:

Title. Contains data on the prosecutor's office (full name and title of the head, address of the department, its full name) and data on the applicant (full name, address, contacts);
Information part. Contains a description of the case under consideration, as well as detailed information about when and what specific actions of the judge led to a violation of your rights. It then describes in detail your attempt to resolve the problem with the help of the panel or the court itself. In conclusion, a request is made to conduct an inspection and hold the judge accountable;
Conclusion. Contains a list of your evidence of the violation (including the response from the board and the court) attached to the complaint, as well as your signature and date of filing the application.

Let us note right away that the prosecutor’s office rarely considers a complaint against a judge. As a rule, complaints against judges received by the prosecutor's office do not even lead to the opening of a case. This is due to the fact that the prosecutor’s office has very little power, and its employees cannot influence judges. So you should write to the prosecutor's office only in case of a gross violation of civil rights - only in the most serious cases will the prosecutor's office be able to help you with anything.

Gratitude: thank you for being with us.

A person expressing dissatisfaction spends his time, nerves and energy in order to identify an existing shortcoming. He shows concern. He is on your side, telling you what can be improved. So he deserves gratitude. The client has not ceased to be yours, despite the misunderstanding. It gives you a chance to prove that you are better, to “resolve” the situation - and this is the second reason for expressing gratitude.

There is a third reason to say “thank you” - the complainant clarifies the situation not in a higher authority, but, as they say, “on the spot.” This means that his goal is not to punish you, but to make a reprimand.

Therefore, the response to any complaint should contain gratitude: “Thank you for informing us about what happened in a timely manner. Thanks to such requests, “Organization Name” has the opportunity to adjust its work and make the service more convenient for our clients.”

When can I complain?

The deadlines differ for decisions based on the results of desk and field inspections that are not appealed, and for all other decisions, as well as actions (inaction) of the inspectorate.
Thus, an appeal must be filed before the decision based on the results of the inspection comes into force - that is, within 1 month from the day it was served.

You can appeal a decision based on the results of desk and on-site inspections that were not appealed on appeal within a year from the date of such decision. The date of delivery of such a decision does not matter.

Other decisions of the inspectorate, as well as its actions (inaction), can be appealed within a year from the day you learned or should have learned about a violation of your rights.

Methods for submitting appeals

Now some general information on the mechanism for submitting appeals to official bodies.
In general, there are several ways to submit your complaint to an organization. At the same time, different organizations have their own specifics. In some places you can submit documents only “from the reception”, in others only through the appeal box, etc. Let's look at the most typical cases: Direct submission of documents to the organization's secretariat.

Pros You save time on sending messages. On your copy of the application you will receive an acceptance mark indicating the date and reference number. Sometimes, having such a copy with an acceptance mark can be VERY important. For example, if there is a possibility that your request will be “accidentally” lost.

Cons You waste your time running around with the appeal. However, in some organizations the secretariats do not find out the identity of the visitor but simply accept the application and put a mark of acceptance. That is, an ordinary courier may well bring the appeal.

Submission "from reception". There is an option for filing appeals when a citizen must submit his complaint or appeal to an employee (not a secretary) who is responsible for receiving citizens’ appeals. This could be an assistant prosecutor on duty, an investigator on duty, etc. Only after this employee has examined your complaint is it assigned an incoming number. Sometimes submitting documents “from reception” exists as one of the alternatives.

Pros It is possible that your complaint has some serious shortcomings that prevent its consideration (for example, lack of a signature or return address). In this case, the employee receiving it will draw your attention to this and give you the opportunity to correct these shortcomings. As in the case of submission to the secretariat, you will receive a second copy of your application with a mark of acceptance. There is an opportunity to “cry” to the employee about your troubles. He (suppressing a yawn) will listen to you and sympathize. By the way, submitting documents “from the reception” is really an outlet for pensioners who are languishing from a lack of communication.

Cons - If you are not a complete idiot and can normally write and file a complaint yourself, filing a complaint “from the reception” is a waste of time for you (sometimes up to several hours).

Filing a complaint “through the box”. Employees of a number of organizations imagine themselves as celestial beings who should not communicate with any “cattle”. In such organizations, boxes are installed at the entrance to receive citizens' requests. Accordingly, you put your appeal there, and after a couple of days you call the secretariat of the organization and you will be informed of the incoming data of your appeal, and if they condescend, then the name of the executor working with your appeal. Pros - Saves time on filing a complaint (go to the box, throw the paper in there and go free) Cons - Yes, in general, the same as when submitting to the secretariat.

Sending a complaint by mail. Pros You save your time. As a rule, it is much easier to get to the post office than to go all the way and wait in line in front of the secretariat doors. Sometimes this method is the only one in cases where the secretariat refuses to accept your complaint for some reason. Cons You will have to be patient and wait until your complaint is delivered to the addressee. A registered letter with notification and an inventory of the attachment costs money. Yes, by the way, for information: by mail you can send applications either by a simple letter, or a letter with acknowledgment of receipt, or a letter with notification and a list of attachments. Which option to choose is up to you. It all depends on how important the documents being sent are. For example, a statement of claim to the court is submitted by letter with an inventory of the attachments, and some insignificant piece of paper can be sent by a simple letter.

Telegram In principle, this is a special case of submitting an appeal by mail, but it has several interesting features. Firstly, the telegram is handed over by the postman against signature (thus, you will always have the opportunity to prove the fact of your request by sending a request to the post office). Secondly, a telegram is the fastest postal item. And finally, a telegram is, at most, a few sentences. Not all appeals can be formulated so briefly. In particular, we can give the following example of using telegrams:

The lawyer, having entered into the case, turned to the investigator in order to transfer the warrant to him in the case. The investigator, as well as the secretariat of the investigative department (at the direction of the investigator), refused to accept the lawyer’s order. There was a real threat that the investigator would take advantage of the delay in obtaining the warrant and carry out investigative actions with the accused in the absence of a lawyer. The lawyer sent the order by letter with an inventory of the contents and immediately sent a telegram to the investigator in which he notified him of the fact of his entry into the case. Thus, the investigator was deprived of the opportunity to state that he “did not know” about the lawyer’s involvement in the case.

Sending a letter by email. Not much different from sending a letter by regular mail. There is evidence that some organizations sometimes “lose” emails. In this case, one trick I use can help you. If the deadlines “tolerate”, then, without wasting time on trifles, we go to this address: https://letters.kremlin.ru/. This is where we send the letter addressed to our Guarantor. Some unknown official of the Presidential Administration, having received your letter, will print it out and send it in a beautiful envelope to the organization to which, in fact, this letter should have been submitted. Pros - You spend a minimum of time writing and sending a letter. You only pay for the Internet. The letter will not be lost. You will be able to make sure that in the Presidential Administration people are really working, and not just sitting around. Disadvantages - A lot of time is spent passing letters through authorities. Yes, by the way, do not flatter yourself with the hope that a letter coming from the Presidential Administration will be perceived somehow “in a special way,” in any case, if there is no note “Consider, send a response to the applicant and to the Presidential Administration .”

Appeals made during investigative actions. One of the special cases of filing an appeal is submitting a petition (complaint, statement) to the investigator conducting a criminal case in which you are one of the participants. In addition to the fact that you can submit your appeal in the manner described above, the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation allows you to submit petitions that must be entered into the protocol of the investigative action during which it was submitted. In some cases, this method is the most preferable, and sometimes the only one possible. Entering appeals into the protocol of investigative action allows you to instantly respond to the situation developing in the case, record violations committed, etc.

However, unscrupulous investigators themselves understand this, and therefore they try to the best of their ability to prevent such requests. Thus, sometimes investigators begin to “add on” laws by declaring that a petition during investigative actions can only be filed on the merits of the investigative action itself. This is wrong. There are no restrictions on submitted applications. It should also be understood that the petition in this case is made at any time during the investigative action, and not when it is convenient for the investigator. For example, we had to deal with situations where the investigator tried to postpone the inclusion of a petition in the protocol until the end of the investigative action. In some cases this is of fundamental importance.

The investigator says that the petition was filed incorrectly, submitted untimely, written in the wrong syllable, recorded in the wrong protocol? So why is he worried? It will be easier for him to refuse the request. I hope you don’t have the feeling that the investigator wishes you well? In the end, if a law enforcement officer really wants to show his illiteracy, let him demonstrate it, but you did not sign up to put up with this illiteracy.

Before almost every investigative action, your rights and responsibilities are explained to you, and they do this against your signature. Thus, even before the start of the investigative action as such, you have a protocol in your hands in which you can write down any of your appeals in your own hand.

Even if you were given a protocol at the very end of the investigative action, no one can stop you from starting your petition with the phrase: “Before the start of this investigative action, I submitted a petition, which the investigator refused to include in the protocol of the investigative action...”. What happens next is the investigator's problem. You should not artificially limit your capabilities and your rights.

One of the specific problems of filing an appeal is the refusal of some organizations and officials to accept applications. This is especially often abused by investigative authorities. By refusing to accept a petition or complaint, the investigator thereby gains the time sometimes necessary to carry out some investigative actions, correct mistakes, etc.

Another problem is the “loss” of requests. That is, sometimes situations arise when the body to which the appeal is sent “loses” this appeal and does not respond to it. This is usually the “sin” of both the investigative authorities and the prosecutor’s office. In both cases, it is important to have on hand evidence of submitted applications - either a copy with an acceptance mark, or a postal receipt, or (at worst) at least the date of acceptance and the incoming number of your application.

However, in fairness it should be said that refusals to accept applications or their “loss” do not happen so often. Typically, law enforcement agencies work “out of lawlessness” only in special cases, when there is an order from above, or a very serious personal interest.

Document structure

The complaint begins with an introductory part. It is located in the upper right corner of the sheet and contains:

Name of the state body, local government body, organization or full name of the official to whom the appeal is sent.
Full name of the applicant, postal address, including zip code, contact telephone number.

Note!
It is prohibited to send a formal complaint to a state body, local government body or official whose actions or inactions are being complained about. The narrative should contain a summary of the situation in chronological order. The applicant indicates the exact date, time, place and circumstances under which his rights were violated. If the place and time of events are not known for certain, the estimated time period and boundaries of the territory should be indicated.

The petitioning part of the document contains the citizen’s demands to restore justice in the issue under consideration. If there are several requirements, they should be presented in the form of a numbered list. The document must necessarily contain the applicant’s signature at the bottom of the sheet and the date of preparation. In support of his arguments, the applicant may attach originals or copies of documents and materials to the application.

Registration of an appeal

A citizen’s appeal can be divided into three independent blocks:

Details of the addressee and sender. Popularly called “Shapka”. This is what we will call it in the following for convenience. The “header” indicates the name and address of the organization or person to whom you are sending the appeal, as well as the name (for the organization - name) and address of the sender.
Descriptive part. This part outlines the specific situation that led to the appeal.
Resolution or pleading part. It formulates specific requests, demands, petitions, etc.

Let's look at the “header” of the appeal.
It should be formulated in such a way that the complaint reaches the addressee as quickly as possible, and the answer to your appeal is returned to you without problems or delays. As the addressee in the “header” you must indicate the specific person or body to which you are sending the appeal. Here it is necessary to understand some of the basics of how the bureaucratic system works. If you write an appeal addressed to the regional prosecutor, do not expect that the regional prosecutor himself will consider it. Most likely, this appeal will not even fall into his hands. The mechanism for passing an appeal to the prosecutor’s office (and any other body) will be approximately as follows:

The appeal ends up on the desk of the secretary of the prosecutor's office. The secretary transfers the appeal to an employee of the prosecutor's office (as a rule, this is one of the deputy prosecutors), who is authorized to distribute citizens' appeals among the executors. The distribution among performers, as a rule, is either by territorial or by profile. At the same time, the distributor himself practically does not go into the essence of the complaint, limiting his participation in its consideration to the resolution “X. accept the complaint for consideration, conduct an inspection and report.” After this, again through the secretariat, the complaint reaches the executor, who will then work with it.

Thus, if you are writing an appeal, it is absolutely not necessary to waste time and effort in order to find out the name and class rank of the leader - in most cases, it will be enough to confine yourself to indicating the name of the body to which you are sending your appeal - “To the regional prosecutor’s office”, “ To the District Investigation Department”, “To the District Internal Affairs Directorate”, etc.

If you want your complaint to be considered promptly and effectively, do not be lazy to indicate in your address a telephone number where you can be contacted. The contractor may need this in order to quickly, without wasting extra time, find out some details that interest him, request missing documents, etc. Naturally, this is much easier and faster to do by phone than by mail.