Appealing a court decision in Moscow. Appeal a civil court decision

If you do not agree with the Court Decision or the Court Determination, the only way is to appeal it to a higher authority, everything else will not help.

Only through a complaint can you achieve a change in the Decision or Determination of the court in your favor.

After filing an appeal against a court decision, this decision, until it is considered by a higher authority, WILL NOT ENTER INTO LEGAL FORCE and YOU ARE NOT OBLIGED TO FULFILL IT...!

By filing a complaint, in any case, you do not lose anything - you have a chance to overturn the decision, and the appeal procedure gives you significant additional time to not comply with the court decision...

Basic concepts.

Before we dwell in detail on the issues of appealing court decisions and court rulings, let's figure out what is what...

A court decision is a decision made by the court on the merits of the claims stated by the plaintiff or applicant (sometimes called “claims”), while the court’s decision ends/terminates the proceedings. The stated demands are satisfied in full or in part, or the court refuses to satisfy them.

The court decision is announced immediately after its adoption by the court - only the decision itself is announced (also called the “operative part of the decision”): whether to satisfy the requirements or not, but the so-called “full text” The court prepares decisions with reasons and references to laws within a period of time (in practice) of about 5-10 days, and sometimes longer... (although the law stipulates 5 days).

In the context of an appeal, to prepare a complaint against a court decision, a lawyer needs the full text of the decision...* (but there are pitfalls...see below) and familiarization with all the materials of the case.

Court rulings are intermediate procedural documents issued by a judge before making a decision on the case.

Example: A ruling on initiating a civil case, a ruling on ordering an examination, a ruling on leaving the statement of claim without progress, a ruling on returning the statement of claim, a ruling on involving third parties in the case, etc.

From the point of view of appeal, not all court rulings can be appealed, if we make it easier for you to understand what can be appealed and what not, I recommend - IMMEDIATELY after the announcement of the ruling by the judge, ask (you have every right) to hand it over to you (at least it will indicate below – is it possible to appeal it and the procedure for appealing).

If you received a court ruling by mail, you should know that the period for appealing it begins not from the date it was issued, but from the date you received it by mail... (I’m clarifying this for the case when you learned about the ruling only after receiving a letter from the court) .

How, where and why to appeal a court decision?

If the court makes a decision not in your favor, then you, as a person who disagrees, have every right to appeal it to a higher authority.

A complaint filed against a court decision is called an “Appeal.”

According to the law, from the moment the court makes its decision, you have only one month to file an appeal, but now let’s take a closer look - what does this month mean?

Some example situations:

If you, or your representative, were present at the court hearing at which the judge announced the Decision in the case, then from that date, if you want to appeal the Court Decision, you MUST draw up and file a complaint against the Court Decision within 1 month. If you miss the one-month deadline, your complaint will not be accepted for consideration and the complaint WILL BE RETURNED WITHOUT CONSIDERATION.
If you were not present at the court hearing and a decision was made in your absence, then from the moment you received the court decision or from the moment you officially (signed that you have familiarized yourself with the case, or received documents from the court by mail) you have a month to appeal it, you missed a month - the chances of the complaint being accepted are minimal, the complaint will be returned without consideration. Sometimes courts make decisions in absentia in a case - here you need to submit an Application to cancel the court decision within no more than 15 days from the date of receipt of the court decision to cancel it, skip 15 days - then only through an appeal.
If you missed the one-month deadline for appealing the court decision, then you can still file a complaint, but then you also need to draw up a Petition (request) in writing to restore the deadline for filing an appeal with reasons why the court should accept it... it’s not all there You most likely cannot do it simply and without a specialist.

In any case, if the Court Decision has been made, if you disagree with it, you must file an appeal, otherwise it will enter into legal force and you will have to obey the Judge’s Decision.

Supervisory complaint

A citizen submits a supervisory complaint if it is necessary to appeal a court decision or ruling that has entered into force. As in previous cases, such a complaint can be filed by any interested person whose rights have been violated by the judge’s verdict.

However, the procedure for filing a supervisory complaint has its own specific features:

the complaint is submitted to the Presidium of the subject’s court or to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation;
the list of persons entitled to petition is strictly regulated;
a complaint of this type is filed only against a decision that has entered into force;
The deadline for submitting the document is no more than three months.

A supervisory appeal is the last opportunity for a Russian citizen to win a case in a Russian court.

A complaint can be filed:

participants in previous processes;
third parties whose rights were infringed by a court decision;
a prosecutor who participated in previous trials, the Prosecutor General or his deputies;
by state bodies in case of violation of the current legislation by the resolution.

When filing a complaint, third parties should indicate how the court's verdict affected their interests and rights.

Just as in previous cases, if the filing deadline is violated, a request for its extension is possible if there are good reasons for this. The content of the complaint in its structure does not differ from previous types of complaints.

The following situations may serve as grounds for filing a supervisory complaint:

violation of the rights of a certain participant in the process;
violation of the rights of an indefinite number of people or the entire society as a whole;
violation of understanding of the law that applies throughout the Russian Federation.

These grounds can serve for both partial and complete reversal of a court decision.

A supervisory complaint is characterized by a certain procedure for consideration:

issuance of an act of acceptance of the claim for consideration;
notification of interested parties by sending a summons;
the person who accepted the application does not participate in the consideration of the case;
the judge who accepted the complaint acts as a rapporteur at a meeting of the court;
each of the participants in the process has the right to provide explanations;
The decision on the case is made by voting.

After considering the complaint, the court makes an appropriate decision. Thus, it is possible to refuse to satisfy a petition, or to completely or partially cancel a decision that previously entered into force.

Lawyers and advocates of your city

How to file an appeal?

This question, despite its simplicity, is not at all simple... and a subtle approach is needed here...

You will ask why?

Let me explain... In order to competently appeal a court decision, you must obtain the full text of the court decision, as well as familiarize yourself with all the materials of the case. I have repeatedly encountered situations where judges took weeks, and sometimes months, to prepare a court decision...

So how can you ensure that you don’t miss the deadline for appealing and still have more than a month to prepare your Appeal?

The recipe is as follows - serve the so-called. “short appeal”, what is it?

A short appeal is a complaint against a court decision prepared intentionally with errors and not sufficiently motivated, without paid state duty...

Why is this being done?

The court, having received such a short appeal, is obliged to accept it - but!... Having considered this complaint, the court issues a ruling to leave it without movement and invites you to eliminate the identified shortcomings within a certain period of time - as a rule, this period extends beyond a month from the date of the decision... This is the time for you to prepare a full complaint (read the case, get the full court decision, find a lawyer...) and the deadline for delaying the entry into force of the court decision.

Where to submit?

In response to the decisions of the magistrate - to the district (in Moscow) or city (in the region) court, your complaint will be considered solely by a federal judge.

Based on the decisions of the district (in the region - city) court - in Moscow this is the Moscow City Court, in the Moscow region - the Moscow Regional Court, your complaint will be considered by a panel of three federal judges.

How to file an Appeal?

The rules for drawing up Appeals are set out in detail in the Civil Procedural Code of the Russian Federation, these rules are mandatory for their compliance and in case of violation, the complaint will not be accepted, and the Decision will enter into legal force after a month from the date of its adoption.

The chances that your complaint will be upheld in a higher court are only possible if your appeal:

competently compiled - with reference to laws, judicial practice and case materials,
the state fee has been paid, all necessary documents are attached,
clearly indicates violations committed by the court with reference to articles of law,
contains legal requirements to change, cancel, or make a new decision in the case.

If you want to make such a complaint yourself, I recommend that you:

study your entire file thoroughly - every page,
find and analyze judicial practice in similar cases and with reference to laws, indicating contradictions between the case materials/decision and judicial practice, give a detailed analysis of the decision,
draw up an appeal as correctly, clearly and understandably as possible. The higher court most likely will not read your 15 sheets stating that the judge did not listen to you throughout the trial... The higher court is only interested in the facts, case materials and practice.

You must understand that if your complaint is not satisfied, your chances of challenging the court decision are reduced to almost zero, and after consideration of your complaint and refusal to satisfy it, the decision enters into legal force on the same day.

Court rulings can be appealed within 15 days by filing a private complaint... also drawn up according to the rules established in the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation (Civil Procedure Code), this complaint must be motivated with reference to laws and practice.

Therefore... if you want to make a motivated, justified complaint against the court decision/rulings, with reference to laws, practice and case materials, it is better to contact those who do this every day... The risk of your mistake is too great and you most likely already have a second chance will not be.

If you need to delay the entry into force of a court decision, if you need to draw up an appeal/private complaint and represent your interests in a higher court, please contact, call/write, I will be happy to help you.

But my advice is not to delay this issue until the last minute, because you can miss the deadline for appealing...

Appeal

Such a complaint is filed when the possibilities for filing an appeal have been exhausted. You can contact the appropriate authorities in civil, criminal or administrative cases. If the application is late, the applicant will need to additionally request an extension of the deadline, but only in the light of compelling reasons.

Cassation instances

The applicant has the right to apply to:

Presidium of the subject's court;
federal district arbitration;
to the Judicial Collegium of the RF Armed Forces.

When filing a complaint by mail, you must send the application by registered mail.

If the text of the complaint contains errors that prevent its consideration, the application will be returned to the plaintiff. A certain period of time is given to correct all shortcomings. If there are no errors, the complaint will be considered within three days at a meeting in which all persons interested in the outcome of the process will be able to participate.

Making a complaint

The requirements for registration of cassation do not carry any fundamental novelty. Thus, a complaint drawn up by hand or using technical means is accepted. At the end of the application there must be a personal signature of the applicant or a person representing his interests.

When drawing up a cassation, you must provide the following information:

name and address of the court;
Full name of the applicant;
procedural state of the case;
list of courts that rejected the appeal;
information about all participants in the trial;
a list of decisions that need to be reversed in whole or in part;
indication of the grounds for the application;
a list of claims supported by legal norms and various documentary information;
a request for consideration of the petition and review of a previously issued decision;
list of attached documents.

The main part indicates the procedural violations committed by the court (if any). So, these include:

Not all participants in the proceedings are notified;
lack of a protocol for the consideration of the case;
violation of the right to defense;
violations during judicial investigations, debates, etc.

Also, a certain list of documents must be attached to the cassation, which can be supplemented in special cases. The main documents are:

photocopy of the applicant's passport;
copies of previous decisions;
documents confirming the violation of the plaintiff’s rights;
receipt of payment of duty.

The registration of a cassation when challenging a decision in criminal or administrative cases is drawn up according to the same model.

Narrative part of the appeal

Here you need to indicate which decision (ruling, ruling) of the lower court is being appealed, with the obligatory indication of its date and number.

Next, it is necessary to briefly outline the essence of the requirements against the defendant, which they intended to satisfy by filing a statement of claim.

For example, on such and such a date, such and such a court rendered a decision on a claim against a certain person for the collection of penalties for a unilateral refusal to fulfill the terms of the contract.

The said decision decided to recover a certain amount of money.

The plaintiff does not agree and believes that it did not satisfy all the requirements, since the lower court did not examine all the available evidence of violation of contractual terms, and this led to an underestimation of the penalties due to the party to the dispute.

The descriptive part should also note all materials on the case provided to the court of first instance and briefly provide the explanations of the defendant and third interested parties.

Contents of the response to the appeal

The response and objections to the appeal are, in principle, identical in content and form. This document is used by the participants in the case to express their position. And regarding the arguments of the appeal. And regarding the legality and validity of the court's decision.

Objections to the prosecutor's submission

In the text of the response to the appeal, you can indicate the circumstances that are important for the consideration of the case, and draw the attention of the higher court to the evidence that was assessed in the court decision. It is not necessary that the review contain disagreement with the arguments of the complaint. And this is precisely the difference between a review and an objection. On the contrary, a review may support the arguments of the complaint.

In theory, the review should not contain arguments that would allow it to be regarded as an appeal. In this case, the document will not be taken into account. After all, the complaint must be filed in strict accordance with the requirements of procedural law. And paid for the state duty. But on the other hand, since the appeal considers the case in full, the court may take into account some arguments. Although the definition does not specify the source of the arguments.

Additional documents may be attached to the review. At the end, sign and indicate the date (when you sign or when you will submit your review).

The well-known and declared period for appealing a court verdict or other decision of a court of first instance is 10 days. There are several points in this issue that are not quite clearly interpreted.

It is quite clear that for a convicted person in custody, these 10 days begin to expire from the moment he is given a copy of the verdict.

For everyone else, including criminal lawyers, 10 days expire from the date of the verdict. It is generally accepted, although not controversial, that the day the verdict is pronounced is the day the verdict is announced. That is, the verdict was announced - and regardless of whether you have the text - your 10 days begin to expire. Already Article 310 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation allows the court to pronounce only the introductory and operative (conclusions) parts of the sentence. At the same time, what is important for appealing is, first of all, the descriptive and motivational part of the verdict, in fact, where the court explains the reasons for the verdict and the evidence of the decision made. Within 5 days, you will, of course, be handed the verdict (although in practice it has happened that the full text of the verdict was handed over much later). However, even in this situation it is clear that your legislator actually “ate” five days to appeal.

But this is not the most interesting thing. What is interesting is the practice and legal understanding of our courts of procedural deadlines. Let’s assume that the court’s verdict is passed on December 31, on the eve of the New Year holidays. Immediately after the end of the holidays, on January 11th, YOU submit your appeal to the court. And here you will find out that you missed the deadline for appealing the verdict. You are in shock, trying to make up for the missed deadline. And whether you will succeed is unknown. This story is from real practice. Indeed, Chapter 17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, headed by Article 128, does not contain a single mention of the fact that non-working time (holidays, weekends) is not counted when calculating deadlines. There is a slight hint that when calculating the terms of detention (house arrest, stay in a medical organization), non-working time is also included in these same terms. And we must guess that non-working time is not included in the remaining periods. However, this is not so, the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation is a mandatory law and is not subject to broad interpretation.

It becomes easier if the 10-day period expires on a weekend or holiday. In this case, you can take your time and send your complaint the next business day.

In any case, the main advice: submit your complaint on time, and even with a small margin. If you do not have the full text of the sentence, submit a short appeal, stating your disagreement with the sentence and be sure to note the absence of the full text of the sentence. A short appeal - there is no such concept in the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, but its official filing (to the office, with a mark on the second copy) will help you “stake out” the deadlines. As a rule, filing a short appeal forces the court to hurry up and serve you with the full text of the verdict.

If you do not have time to personally come with a complaint to the court, send the complaint through the nearest post office. Don't forget to send a letter with the notification (preferably both the letter and the notification were registered) and receive the corresponding receipts with the date of departure. If you are in custody, submit a complaint to the administration (operational part) of the detention center, if in a hospital - to the chief doctor (or to the office of the relevant medical institution).

When reinstating a missed deadline for valid reasons, you will encounter a lot of problems. Procedural legislation does not contain rules explaining what are valid reasons for missing procedural deadlines. The analogy between the criminal process and other norms of Russian law is not permissible. And therefore, the courts interpret the validity of the above reasons in whatever way they please. Valid reasons will be the inability to file a complaint due to medical conditions (medical certificate, certificate of incapacity for work are required), natural disasters (in this case, forest fires in the area are not considered). In other cases, the courts may consider the fact of illness of a child (certificate required), death of close relatives (although this is far from a fact), fire in a house or apartment (certificate required) to be valid reasons. The absence of the full text of the verdict in your hands, a business trip, participation in another trial (even if the trial is in another location) will not be considered valid reasons. There have been quite exotic attempts to find valid reasons to justify missing a deadline - for example, refusal after a verdict from the services of a lawyer and the lack of a new lawyer, legal illiteracy, a nervous breakdown from scandals in the family, a wedding and honeymoon, moving to a new place of residence, divorce from a spouse and a nervous breakdown in connection with this, a change of location by the court, etc. The court, even on these grounds, can restore the period of appeal. It depends on whether you can prove that you wanted to appeal the verdict, but you did not have a real opportunity to exercise your right.

If you still missed the procedural deadline for appealing, you need to restore it. How - read here.

Your problems are often frightening in their complexity and intricacy. You should not despair and need to call

Our specialists will analyze your problem and develop ways to resolve it in accordance with your wishes, the real state of affairs, the practical experience of our employees and current legislation.

Good luck and success.

Filing a response to the court

After receiving an appeal, the court notifies all participants in the civil process, sends them copies of documents and invites them to submit their comments and objections. The court sets a deadline for submitting documents. After the deadline for appeal has expired, the case with the complaint and received reviews is sent to the appellate authority.

Therefore, the review must be sent to the court of first instance. When the period for submitting objections (it is indicated in the covering letter with a copy of the complaint) has expired, the response can be immediately sent to the appellate court. It is allowed to include it even at the court hearing itself. In any case, send a copy of the review to all participants in the case in advance, and attach evidence to the review to the court.