Every person goes to court with the hope of a fair resolution of his problem. However, such a result, unfortunately, does not always happen. Often judges make decisions that can hardly be called legal. It is generally accepted that if the court makes a decision not in your favor, there is no point in further complaining. In reality, this is not entirely true: the law allows you to appeal court decisions.
At the same time, the appeal process cannot be called simple: you not only need to find undeniable arguments in favor of your position, but also correctly draft and submit a complaint to a higher court. If you are determined to fight for your rights, then it is better to file a complaint with the help of lawyers.
Having professional legal support makes it possible to avoid mistakes when appealing judicial acts and meet the deadlines for filing a complaint. You can also appeal the decisions of the authorities through the court, and in this case you also cannot do without the help of a lawyer.
Filing a complaint to court: the main thing
First of all, we will deal with those complaints that can be filed against court decisions. There are several types of complaints that can be filed in cases where you do not agree with the position of the court: private, appeal, cassation and supervisory.
Important! Both the plaintiff and the defendant can file a complaint if they disagree with the decision. If a prosecutor was involved in the case, he also has the right to appeal the unlawful act.
The first type - a private complaint - is most often associated with court decisions according to which the claim was left without progress or the applicant was denied a request to resume proceedings in the case. Also, using this type of appeal, you can complain about the refusal to take interim measures. Such a document is most often submitted when the consideration of the case on the merits has not yet been completed. You have 15 days to appeal such acts.
An appeal should be filed if you do not agree with the decision of the trial court. Preparation and filing must be completed within 30 days (the period is counted from the date of production of the court decision). It is possible to appeal a decision to the cassation instance only after the acts have been adopted in the first and appellate instances. The meaning of filing a cassation appeal to the court, in general, is no different from an appeal: the applicant also asks to cancel unlawful decisions.
Filing an appeal to the supervisory authority is the final stage of the appeal process. An appeal can only be submitted if you have already gone through the first instance, appeal, and cassation.
What civil court rulings can be appealed?
A private complaint is filed against court rulings in cases where such an appeal procedure is specifically provided for by the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation or the ruling precludes further progress of the case (Article 331 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation). In other cases, you can appeal the ruling in the text of the appeal against the court decision, indicating your disagreement with the actions of the court, formalized by the ruling in the form of your objections.
A complete list of determinations subject to appeal is given in a separate article.
| Note! |
| Appealing court rulings |
How to file a complaint?
You can begin filing an appeal only after a court decision has been made that does not suit you. Before starting to prepare a complaint, you should first carefully read the resolution and analyze the position of the court. If there is a chance of cancellation, you can begin preparing documents for appeal. The applicant will also have to pay a state fee.
After the complaint to the court has been drawn up, it must be sent to the other parties for review. You can directly file a complaint with the court in person through the reception office of the judicial authority or by sending it by registered mail. You can find out the details for sending on the website of the judicial authority.
Important! When going to court, you need to carefully monitor the deadlines. If the appeal deadline is missed, the court has the right to leave your appeal without consideration. However, if there are valid reasons, the period can be restored.
What must be included in a complaint?
Drawing up a complaint must occur in accordance with certain rules. At the same time, the content practically does not depend on what type of complaint you want to file with the court (with the exception of some nuances). As a general rule, the document must contain:
- the name of the court to which you plan to file a complaint;
- information about the parties to the process;
- name of the application (for example, “Appeal”);
- information about the act being appealed;
- grounds for appeal, as well as the applicant’s requirements and references to the law;
- list of attached documents.
The attachments may include copies of the decision being appealed, a receipt (to confirm payment of the fee) and, if necessary, an act that will confirm that the person who signed the complaint to the court has the appropriate authority.
As we have already said, the law requires that when filing a complaint with the court, its copies are sent to other participants in the process, therefore the package of documents must include notifications confirming the sending.
Technical requirements for electronic documents and images for filing in court
Technical requirements for electronic documents:
- allowed formats - PDF, RTF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX or ODT;
- Allowed formats for a document with graphics are PDF, JPEG (JPG), PNG or TIFF;
- file format of the sent document - the file format of the electronic document at the time of its signing;
- each document - one file up to 30 MB in size inclusive;
- for identification purposes, the name of the file indicates the name of the document and the number of sheets in it;
- It is prohibited to use copy and print protection;
- a detached (in a separate file) electronic signature is used.
Technical requirements for electronic images:
- scanning scale 1:1;
- color scheme - black and white or gray;
- When scanning, full color reproduction of the original is allowed, but only if this is important for the correct consideration and resolution of the case;
- mandatory quality requirements - the ability to correctly read the document, as well as the accurate transmission of all mandatory details, seals, stamps and graphic signatures, if such elements are present;
- The format of the created file is PDF with the ability to copy text. Size - no more than 30 MB;
- one document - one file. For identification purposes, the file name indicates the name of the document and the number of sheets;
- a detached (in a separate file) electronic signature is used.
An appeal to the court (claim, petition, statement, etc.) can be created directly in the system using its functionality. In this case, an electronic document is created that must be signed with an enhanced qualified electronic signature.
If the appeal is prepared separately (outside the system), to send it to the court via the Internet, a scanned copy of the signed document is created - an electronic image, which is certified by a simple electronic signature or an enhanced qualified electronic signature.
What other complaints can be filed in court?
We have considered the complaints that can be filed against court decisions. However, you can complain not only about the court itself, but also about the authorities and individual officials. In what cases does a citizen have the right to file a complaint in court against government officials? This is possible if:
- you have been unlawfully prosecuted;
- you have been assigned a duty that conflicts with the law;
- your rights have been violated by the actions (inaction) of government authorities;
- government officials have created obstacles to the exercise of your rights.
At the same time, calling such appeals “complaints” is not entirely correct, since in form they are ordinary statements of claim. Therefore, in order to complain about a government agency, you will have to decide on the judicial body to which you need to contact, collect evidence and draw up a statement.
The statement must correctly indicate what the violation of your rights is, what actions of government officials led to the violation (for example, the adoption of an act), and refer to legislative norms. The evidence may include documents, correspondence with authorities, photographs and videos, as well as witness statements.
Once all the documents are ready, you need to submit them to the court. Based on the results of the consideration of the case, the court makes one of the following decisions - either satisfies the applicant’s demands (for example, cancels an illegal act), or refuses to satisfy them. Also, the applicant’s requirements may be partially satisfied.
Thus, every person can file a complaint in court both against unlawful court decisions and against the actions of government authorities. A lawyer will provide qualified assistance in preparing and submitting documents. Contacting a professional is a guarantee that all documents will be drawn up and sent to the court in accordance with the requirements of the law. This means that the chances of a decision being made in your favor will increase significantly.
Sources:
Proceedings to review judicial acts of arbitration courts
Proceedings in the court of second instance
Proceedings in the appellate court
Filing a private complaint under the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation: conditions and deadlines
In order to file a private complaint against a court ruling, two conditions must be met. The first of them is that the possibility of appealing the determination was expressly stated in the legislation (in this particular case - Article 333 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation).
The second condition is that the determination must create an obstacle to further hearing of the case.
For example, the court unreasonably suspended the proceedings, thereby postponing the resolution of the issue for an indefinite period. In addition, the subject of a private complaint may be a determination to order an examination.
A private complaint against a court ruling is filed within 15 days from the date of receipt of a copy of the ruling. If this deadline was missed for reasons beyond the control of the party, it can be restored.
However, to do this, you must send a separate petition to the court or directly indicate the relevant grounds in a private complaint. The complaint itself should be filed both for the court and in copies for the other parties and other participants in the process (third parties and the prosecutor).
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Terms and procedure for filing a private complaint
First of all, it should be said that a private complaint is drawn up in a number of copies strictly corresponding to the number of participants in the trial.
This is necessary so that the court, if it accepts the complaint for consideration, sends it to all participants in the case.
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A package of documents containing a complaint can be submitted within fifteen days. But in the presence of circumstances recognized by the court as significant, a fifteen-day period is not the limit.
The court, at its discretion, may consider the complaint without summoning the participants to the court hearing. Otherwise, the parties and other participants must be notified of the date and time of consideration of the complaint.
The time period for consideration of a private complaint in a civil case cannot exceed two months, and in the case of consideration of the case in the Supreme Court - three months from the date of acceptance of the complaint for consideration.
At the same time, it should be mentioned that the complaint in question does not require payment of a state fee.
Expert commentary
Roslyakov Oleg Vladimirovich
Lawyer, specialization civil law. More than 19 years of experience.
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To fulfill the remaining conditions imposed by the legislator for submitting all complaint materials for consideration, it is necessary to carefully consider the contents of this document.
Circumstances requiring increased attention
When writing a private complaint, you must remember that the other party to the lawsuit has the right to submit their objections regarding the circumstances stated in the complaint.
Therefore, if the complaint is not intended to delay the court’s final decision, it is necessary to use such evidence that will make possible objections useless.
To do this, you need to consult with a lawyer, since only a competent specialist can draw the necessary and correct conclusions, which can later be used in the evidence base.
Among other things, if for some reason a private complaint was not filed, then the requirements that were intended for the complaint in a regular appeal can be stated.
But for this it will be necessary to wait for the final resolution of the case on the merits.
These are the factors that should be taken into account when writing a private complaint in a civil case, a sample of which can be downloaded from our website. Well, if you have any questions, please contact us.
Private complaint against a court ruling in a civil case
