Article 23. Civil cases under the jurisdiction of a magistrate

According to paragraphs. 1 tsp. 1 tbsp. 22 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation and Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 2 of March 17, 2004, disputes under the Labor Code of the Russian Federation arising between employees and employers are dealt with by judges of general jurisdiction. To determine jurisdiction, in turn, certain rules apply. The plaintiff needs to understand which authority to contact in a labor dispute.

An incorrect choice of court may result in missing the established limitation period and, accordingly, result in the impossibility of satisfying his claims against the employer. Let's talk about which court should be addressed in labor disputes according to the explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

What issues does the magistrate court consider?

In order for a claim to be considered in a magistrate's court, cases and disputes must be within the jurisdiction of that court.

Civil claims

The civil cases specified in Art. 23 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation:

• on the issuance of a document such as a court order (a ruling issued on claims for the collection or reclaiming of movable property worth up to half a million under transactions in simple written form or certified by a notary);
• on the dissolution of marital relations in the absence of a dispute over the upbringing of children;
• on the division of property acquired jointly by spouses during marriage, if its value does not exceed 50,000 rubles;
• property cases, with the exception of cases of inheritance disputes, with a claim value of up to 50,000;
• for disputes based on legislation on the protection of consumer rights, with a claim price of no more than 100,000 rubles.

A statement of claim is filed in the court district of the magistrate according to the general rule at the location of the person who is the defendant in this dispute.

Administrative

In the case of consideration of administrative cases, filing a claim with the magistrate is carried out by specially authorized state bodies, and the defendants are citizens. In accordance with the norms of Chapter 11.1 of the CAS of the Russian Federation, this authority has jurisdiction over the requirements for issuing a court order to collect sanctions and mandatory payments. In addition, he considers cases of administrative offenses specified in Art. 23.1 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. These are not only minor offenses, hooliganism, for example, but also such as illegal entrepreneurship.

Criminal

This authority also carries out a criminal investigation, jurisdiction is determined according to Art. 31 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. It is determined by the punishment: if it is less than three years of imprisonment, the charge is verified by the magistrate's court (with the provided restrictions and exceptions). Thus, it considers the most simple disputes as the first instance. But in this capacity, they check not statements of claim, but statements of crimes.

Procedure for an employee to take before going to court

Before going to court, an employee must comply with the rules of the claim procedure for pre-trial resolution of labor disputes. Conflict resolution before trial includes a number of activities:

1. Negotiation . At the declarative stage, the employee can try to negotiate with his immediate supervisor and try to find a compromise. This tactic only works if there are minor disagreements with the employer, otherwise it can lead to an escalation of the conflict. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not directly indicate that an employee is required to conduct preliminary negotiations before applying to the Labor Dispute Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Labor Dispute Commission) (see Article 387 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
2. Contacting the CTS (if negotiations with the employer did not produce a positive result). An employee has the right to appeal to this authority within 3 months from the moment of discovery of a violation of his legal rights under the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Such a date may be the day of non-payment of due wages, the date of an unlawful disciplinary sanction, etc.

If at the time of the violation the employee was on vacation, a business trip or on sick leave, then the deadline for filing the application must be restored. The commission considers applications within 10 days on the merits of the dispute.

If an employee or legal representative is absent from the CCC meeting, it will be postponed to another date. If you fail to appear again without a valid reason, the matter will be removed from consideration. In this case, the employee has the right to re-apply to the CTS before the expiration of the already valid 3-month period.

Upon inspection, the commission makes a decision, which must be executed within three days from the date of its adoption. In case of an unsatisfactory result, the employer or employee has the right to file a claim in court within 10 days from the date all parties to the conflict receive a copy of the CCC decision.

How to compose

You must first formulate your request to the court, specify it, determine its nature - property or non-property (that is, not related to money or other property, for example, for divorce). Use the list of details and provide your own circumstances and factual data and evidence.

Requisites:

• a header indicating the addressee, the details of the plaintiff and the defendant (it is necessary to indicate the address without fail, any known from the documents);
• name of the form;
• the essence of the appeal, indicating the facts, evidence (for example, a purchase and sale agreement has been concluded, the obligations have not been fulfilled, which is confirmed by the existence of an agreement and the absence of receipts);
• legal justification is not necessary, but is desirable;
• an appeal to the court, highlighted with the word “I ask”, indicating specific demands, amounts, non-property claims;
• list of attachments (document on payment of state duty, evidence, copies for the defendant);
• Signature and date required.

Written form is required.

Another mandatory detail in property disputes: the price of the claim in the magistrate’s court, it must be indicated as a specific amount. This is the monetary value of the stated request. Also, the amount of the claim for filing in the magistrate’s court is determined by the value of the seized property, for example, by the value of the property that should go to the spouse after the division (Article 91 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation). The amount of state duty determined in accordance with Art. depends on the price. 333.19 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

In non-property cases there is no price, but you still have to pay the state duty.

Jurisdiction and jurisdiction of civil cases

Excerpts from the Civil Procedure Code.

Chapter 3. JURISDICTION

Article 22. Jurisdiction of civil cases

1. Courts consider and resolve:

1) lawsuits involving citizens, organizations, state authorities, local governments for the protection of violated or contested rights, freedoms and legitimate interests, in disputes arising from civil, family, labor, housing, land, environmental and other legal relations;

2) cases on the requirements specified in Article 122 of this Code, resolved in the order of writ proceedings;

3) no longer in force on September 15, 2015. — Federal Law dated 03/08/2015 N 23-FZ;

4) cases of special proceedings specified in Article 262 of this Code;

5) cases on challenging decisions of arbitration courts and issuing writs of execution for the forced execution of decisions of arbitration courts;

6) cases on recognition and enforcement of decisions of foreign courts and foreign arbitration awards;

7) cases of assistance to arbitration courts in cases provided for by federal law. (Clause 7 introduced by Federal Law dated December 29, 2015 N 409-FZ)

cases on corporate disputes related to the creation of a legal entity, its management or participation in a legal entity that is a non-profit organization, with the exception of non-profit organizations, cases on corporate disputes of which are subject to the jurisdiction of arbitration courts by federal law. (Clause 8 introduced by Federal Law dated November 28, 2018 N 451-FZ)

2. Courts consider and resolve cases involving foreign citizens, stateless persons, foreign organizations, organizations with foreign investments, and international organizations.

3. Courts consider and resolve cases provided for in parts one and two of this article, with the exception of economic disputes and other cases referred to the competence of arbitration courts by federal constitutional law and federal law. (as amended by Federal Law No. 451-FZ of November 28, 2018)

4. When filing an application with a court containing several interconnected claims, some of which are within the jurisdiction of a court of general jurisdiction, others - of an arbitration court, if separation of claims is impossible, the case is subject to consideration and resolution in a court of general jurisdiction. (as amended by Federal Law No. 451-FZ of November 28, 2018)

If the division of claims is possible, the judge makes a ruling on the acceptance of claims within the jurisdiction of a court of general jurisdiction and on the return of the application regarding the claims within the jurisdiction of the arbitration court. (as amended by Federal Law No. 451-FZ of November 28, 2018)

Article 22.1. Disputes subject to referral to arbitration (introduced by Federal Law dated December 29, 2015 N 409-FZ)

1. Disputes arising from civil legal relations, as well as individual labor disputes between athletes and coaches in professional and elite sports may be submitted by the parties to arbitration if there is a valid arbitration agreement between the parties to the dispute, unless otherwise provided by federal law. (as amended by Federal Laws dated November 28, 2018 N 451-FZ, dated July 31, 2020 N 245-FZ)

2. Cannot be submitted to arbitration: (as amended by Federal Law No. 451-FZ of November 28, 2018)

1) disputes provided for in paragraph 4 of part one of Article 22 of this Code;

2) disputes arising from family relationships, including disputes arising from the relationship between guardians and trustees of the ward’s property, with the exception of cases on the division of jointly acquired property between spouses;

3) disputes arising from labor relations, with the exception of individual labor disputes of athletes, coaches in professional sports and elite sports, referred to the arbitration court within the framework of arbitration (arbitration proceedings), administered by a permanent arbitration institution established taking into account the requirements of the legislation on physical culture and sports; (as amended by Federal Law No. 245-FZ of July 31, 2020)

4) disputes arising from inheritance relations;

5) disputes arising from relations regulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation on the privatization of state and municipal property;

6) disputes arising from relations regulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation on the contract system in the field of procurement of goods, works, services to meet state and municipal needs;

7) disputes regarding compensation for harm caused to life and health;

disputes regarding the eviction of citizens from residential premises;

9) disputes arising from relations related to compensation for damage caused to the environment;

10) other disputes in cases directly provided for by federal law.

3. Disputes between a participant of a legal entity and the legal entity itself and disputes regarding claims of participants of a legal entity in connection with the legal relationship of a legal entity with a third party, if participants of a legal entity have the right to file such a claim in accordance with federal law, may be referred for consideration arbitration court in accordance with part four of this article only if this legal entity, all its participants, as well as other persons who are plaintiffs or defendants in these disputes, have entered into an arbitration agreement to submit these disputes to the arbitration court.

4. The disputes specified in part three of this article may be considered by an arbitration court only if these disputes are referred to an arbitration court with the place of arbitration on the territory of the Russian Federation, administered by a permanent arbitration institution that has approved and published special rules for the resolution of corporate disputes in the manner prescribed by federal law .

Article 23. Civil cases under the jurisdiction of a magistrate

1. The magistrate considers as a court of first instance the following cases:

1) on issuing a court order;

2) on divorce, if there is no dispute between the spouses about children;

3) on the division of jointly acquired property between spouses if the value of the claim does not exceed fifty thousand rubles;

4) in property disputes, with the exception of cases of inheritance of property and cases arising from relations regarding the creation and use of results of intellectual activity, with the cost of the claim not exceeding fifty thousand rubles;

5) for property disputes arising in the field of consumer rights protection, if the cost of the claim does not exceed one hundred thousand rubles. (Part 1 as amended by Federal Law dated November 28, 2018 N 451-FZ)

2. Federal laws may include other cases under the jurisdiction of justices of the peace.

3. When combining several related claims, changing the subject of the claim or filing a counterclaim, if the new claims become subject to the jurisdiction of the district court, while others remain subject to the jurisdiction of the magistrate, all claims are subject to consideration in the district court. In this case, if the jurisdiction of the case has changed during its consideration by the magistrate, the magistrate makes a ruling to transfer the case to the district court and transfers the case for consideration to the district court.

4. Disputes between the magistrate and the district court regarding jurisdiction are not allowed.

Article 24. Civil cases within the jurisdiction of the district court

Civil cases within the jurisdiction of courts of general jurisdiction, with the exception of cases provided for in Articles 23, 25, 26 and 27 of this Code, are considered by the district court as a court of first instance. (as amended by Federal Law No. 451-FZ of November 28, 2018)

Article 25. Civil cases within the jurisdiction of military courts and other specialized courts

In cases provided for by federal constitutional law, civil cases are considered by military and other specialized courts.

Article 26. Civil cases within the jurisdiction of the supreme court of the republic, the regional, regional court, the court of a federal city, the court of an autonomous region and the court of an autonomous district

1. The Supreme Court of the republic, the regional, regional court, the court of a federal city, the court of an autonomous region and the court of an autonomous district shall consider civil cases as a court of first instance:

1) related to state secrets;

2) — no longer in force on September 15, 2015. — Federal Law dated 03/08/2015 N 23-FZ; 9) provided for by Chapter 45 of this Code. (Clause 9 introduced by Federal Law dated December 29, 2015 N 409-FZ)

2. Federal laws may include other cases under the jurisdiction of the supreme court of a republic, a regional court, a court of a federal city, a court of an autonomous region and a court of an autonomous district.

3. The Moscow City Court, as a court of first instance, considers civil cases that are related to the protection of copyright and (or) related rights, except for rights to photographic works and works obtained by methods similar to photography in information and telecommunication networks, including Internet network, and for which they have taken preliminary interim measures in accordance with Article 144.1 of this Code. If the Moscow City Court considers a case in which proceedings were initiated at the plaintiff’s claim after the entry into force of a decision made by the same court in favor of the same plaintiff in another case on the protection of copyright and (or) related rights in information and telecommunication networks, including on the Internet, the Moscow City Court also resolves the issue of permanently restricting access to a site on the Internet, on which information containing objects of copyright and (or) related rights, or information necessary for obtaining them using information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet. (Part 3 as amended by Federal Law dated November 24, 2014 N 364-FZ)

Article 27. Cases within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (as amended by Federal Law No. 29-FZ of March 12, 2014)

The jurisdiction of cases by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is determined by the Federal Constitutional Law of February 5, 2014 N 3-FKZ “On the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation”.

Article 28. Filing a claim at the place of residence or address of the defendant (as amended by Federal Law No. 451-FZ of November 28, 2018)

The claim is brought to the court at the place of residence of the defendant. A claim against an organization is filed in court at the organization's address.

Article 29. Jurisdiction at the choice of the plaintiff

1. A claim against a defendant whose place of residence is unknown or who does not have a place of residence in the Russian Federation may be brought to court at the location of his property or at his last known place of residence in the Russian Federation.

2. A claim against an organization arising from the activities of its branch or representative office may also be filed in court at the address of its branch or representative office. (as amended by Federal Law No. 451-FZ of November 28, 2018)

3. Claims for the collection of alimony and for establishing paternity may also be brought by the plaintiff to the court at the place of his residence.

4. Claims for divorce may also be brought to the court at the place of residence of the plaintiff in cases where there is a minor with him or, for health reasons, it is difficult for the plaintiff to travel to the place of residence of the defendant.

5. Claims for compensation for damage caused by injury, other damage to health or as a result of the death of the breadwinner may also be brought by the plaintiff to the court at the place of his residence or the place where the damage was caused.

6. Claims for the restoration of pension and housing rights, return of property or its value, related to compensation for losses caused to a citizen by illegal conviction, illegal criminal prosecution, illegal use of detention as a preventive measure, recognizance not to leave, or illegal imposition of administrative punishment in the form of an arrest, may also be presented to the court at the place of residence of the plaintiff. (as amended by Federal Law dated July 3, 2016 N 272-FZ)

6.1. Claims for the protection of the rights of the subject of personal data, including compensation for losses and (or) compensation for moral damage, may also be brought to the court at the plaintiff’s place of residence. (Part 6.1 introduced by Federal Law dated 05/07/2013 N 99-FZ)

6.2. Claims to stop the search engine operator from issuing links allowing access to information on the Internet information and telecommunications network may also be brought to the court at the plaintiff’s place of residence. (Part 6.2 introduced by Federal Law dated July 13, 2015 N 264-FZ)

6.3. Claims for restoration of labor rights may also be brought to the court at the plaintiff’s place of residence. (Part 6.3 introduced by Federal Law dated July 3, 2016 N 272-FZ)

7. Claims for the protection of consumer rights may also be brought to the court at the place of residence or place of stay of the plaintiff or at the place of conclusion or place of execution of the contract, except for the cases provided for in part four of Article 30 of this Code. (as amended by Federal Law dated July 18, 2019 N 191-FZ)

8. Claims for compensation for losses caused by collisions of ships, recovery of wages and other amounts due to ship crew members for work on board the ship, repatriation costs and social insurance contributions, collection of remuneration for providing assistance and rescue at sea may also be brought in the court at the location of the defendant's ship or the ship's home port. (Part 8 as amended by Federal Law dated 06.02.2012 N 4-FZ)

9. Claims arising from contracts, including labor contracts, which indicate the place of their execution, may also be brought to the court at the place of execution of such agreement. (as amended by Federal Law dated July 3, 2016 N 272-FZ)

10. The choice between several courts, which, according to this article, has jurisdiction over the case, belongs to the plaintiff.

Article 30. Exclusive jurisdiction

1. Claims for rights to land plots, subsoil plots, buildings, including residential and non-residential premises, structures, structures, and other objects firmly connected to the land, as well as for the release of property from seizure, are brought to the court at the location of these objects or seized property. (as amended by Federal Law No. 118-FZ of July 14, 2008)

2. Claims of the testator's creditors, brought before the acceptance of the inheritance by the heirs, are subject to the jurisdiction of the court at the place where the inheritance was opened.

3. Claims against carriers arising from contracts of carriage are filed in court at the address of the carrier to whom the claim was filed in the prescribed manner. (as amended by Federal Law No. 451-FZ of November 28, 2018)

4. Claims for the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of a group of persons, including consumer rights, are filed at the address of the defendant. (Part 4 introduced by Federal Law dated July 18, 2019 N 191-FZ)

Article 30.1. Jurisdiction of cases related to the implementation by courts of the functions of assistance and control in relation to arbitration courts (introduced by Federal Law of December 29, 2015 N 409-FZ)

1. An application for the annulment of decisions of arbitration courts and international commercial arbitrations adopted on the territory of the Russian Federation is submitted to the district court on the territory of which the decision of the arbitration court was made. By agreement of the parties to the arbitration proceedings, an application to cancel the decision of the arbitration court may be filed with the district court at the location or place of residence of one of the parties to the arbitration proceedings.

2. An application for the issuance of a writ of execution for the forced execution of decisions of arbitration courts and international commercial arbitrations adopted on the territory of the Russian Federation is submitted to the district court at the location or place of residence of the debtor or, if his location or place of residence is unknown, at the location of the property the debtor is a party to the arbitration proceedings. By agreement of the parties to the arbitration proceedings, an application for the issuance of a writ of execution for the forced execution of the arbitration court decision may be submitted to the district court in whose territory the arbitration court decision was made, or to the district court at the location or place of residence of the party to the arbitration proceedings in whose favor the decision was made arbitration court.

3. An application for the court to exercise assistance functions in relation to the arbitration courts specified in part two of Article 427.1 of this Code is submitted to the district court at the place where the relevant arbitration proceedings are held.

Article 31. Jurisdiction of several related cases

1. A claim against several defendants living or located in different places is brought to the court at the place of residence or address of one of the defendants at the choice of the plaintiff. (as amended by Federal Law No. 451-FZ of November 28, 2018)

2. A counterclaim is filed in court at the place where the original claim was considered.

3. A civil claim arising from a criminal case, if it was not brought or was not resolved during the criminal case, is brought for consideration in civil proceedings according to the rules of jurisdiction established by this Code.

Article 32. Contractual jurisdiction

The parties may, by agreement among themselves, change the territorial jurisdiction for a given case before the court accepts it for its proceedings. The jurisdiction established by Articles 26, 27 and 30 of this Code cannot be changed by agreement of the parties.

Article 33. Transfer of a case accepted by the court for its proceedings to another court

1. A case accepted by the court for its proceedings in compliance with the rules of jurisdiction must be resolved by it on its merits, at least in the future it will become the jurisdiction of another court, with the exception of cases of change of jurisdiction established by Articles 26 and 27 of this Code. (as amended by Federal Law No. 451-FZ of November 28, 2018)

2. The court transfers the case to another court of general jurisdiction if: (as amended by Federal Law No. 451-FZ of November 28, 2018)

1) the defendant, whose place of residence or location was not previously known, will file a petition to transfer the case to the court at his place of residence or location;

2) both parties filed a motion to consider the case at the location of the majority of the evidence;

3) when considering the case in this court, it turned out that it was accepted for proceedings in violation of the rules of jurisdiction;

4) after the recusal of one or more judges or for other reasons, replacement of judges or consideration of the case in this court becomes impossible. In this case, the transfer of the case is carried out by a higher court. The transfer of cases to be considered in the supreme court of the republic, a regional court, a court of a federal city, a court of an autonomous region or a court of an autonomous district is carried out by a cassation court of general jurisdiction. The transfer of cases to be considered in a court of appeal of general jurisdiction and a court of cassation of general jurisdiction is carried out by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. (Clause 4 as amended by Federal Law dated November 28, 2018 N 451-FZ)

2.1. If, during the consideration of a case in court, it turns out that it is subject to consideration by an arbitration court, the court transfers the case to the arbitration court, to whose jurisdiction it is assigned by law. (Part 2.1 introduced by Federal Law dated November 28, 2018 N 451-FZ)

3. A court ruling is issued regarding the transfer of a case to another court or the refusal to transfer a case to another court, against which a private complaint may be filed. The transfer of the case to another court is carried out after the expiration of the period for appealing this ruling, and in the case of filing a complaint - after the court has issued a ruling to dismiss the complaint without satisfaction. In the cases provided for in paragraph 4 of part two of this article, a ruling to transfer a case to another court or to refuse to transfer a case to another court comes into force from the date of adoption and is not subject to appeal. (as amended by Federal Law dated December 2, 2019 N 406-FZ) (part 3 as amended by Federal Law dated November 28, 2018 N 451-FZ)

4. A case sent from one court to another must be accepted for consideration by the court to which it was sent. Disputes about jurisdiction between courts in the Russian Federation are not allowed.

Article 33.1. Transition to consideration of the case according to the rules of administrative proceedings (introduced by Federal Law of November 28, 2018 N 451-FZ)

1. When applying to the court with an application containing several interrelated claims, some of which are subject to consideration in civil proceedings, others - in administrative proceedings, if separation of claims is impossible, the case is subject to consideration and resolution in civil proceedings.

2. When a statement of claim is submitted to the court, containing several claims, some of which are subject to consideration according to the rules of civil proceedings, and others - according to the rules of administrative proceedings, if their separate consideration is possible, the judge resolves the issue of accepting the claims subject to consideration in civil proceedings. . If other claims submitted to the court that are subject to consideration in administrative proceedings are within the jurisdiction of this court, the issue of their acceptance for proceedings is resolved by the judge in accordance with the legislation on administrative proceedings on the basis of copies of the statement of claim certified by him and the relevant documents attached to it. If other claims submitted to the court that are subject to consideration in administrative proceedings are not within the jurisdiction of this court, the judge returns the statement of claim regarding such claims in accordance with paragraph 2 of part one of Article 135 of this Code.

3. The court, having established during the preparation of a civil case for trial or trial in a civil case that it is subject to consideration in administrative proceedings, issues a ruling to proceed to consideration of the case according to the rules of administrative proceedings.

Legislative regulation

In the Russian Federation there is a federal law “On Justices of the Peace”. A similar law has been adopted in the regions of the country. Local acts repeat the provisions of federal law. The differences relate to the procedure for appointing and organizing the activities of judges.

Magistrates are subject to the law “On the Judicial System” and “On the Status of Judges”.

In order to ensure their activities, a number of normative acts - instructions, regulations - were adopted. In particular, instructions on the organization of office work.

Procedural codes (Civil Procedure Code, Arbitration Procedure Code, CAS AND Code of Criminal Procedure) answer the question of what magistrates do.

Jurisdiction in arbitration proceedings

Situations when the plaintiff has the right to choose in which region to apply to the arbitration court are established by Art. 36 Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation:

1. If the place of residence or location of the defendant is unknown, the plaintiff has the right to appeal to the arbitration court of the subject of the federation in which the defendant’s property is located or which is known as the last place of residence (location) of the defendant.
2. If there are several defendants and they live (are located) in different regions of the Russian Federation, the plaintiff has the right to choose an arbitration court in any of these regions.
3. If the defendant lives (is) abroad, the claim may be brought to the Russian arbitration court at the location of the defendant’s property.
4. Claims arising from an agreement may be brought at the place of execution of this agreement, if such a place is indicated in its terms.
5. A claim against a branch (representative office) of a legal entity may be brought at the location of the branch (representative office), but only if it is located in a different region than the parent organization.
6. At the place where the losses were caused or at the location (registration) of the ship, claims for compensation for losses from a collision of ships and for the recovery of remuneration for rescue at sea may be filed.

The rules of jurisdiction at the choice of the plaintiff do not cancel the general rule - the claim is brought at the place of residence (location) of the defendant. The plaintiff simply has the right to choose whether to use this rule or the provisions of Art. 36 Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.

Notwithstanding the general rule of jurisdiction and the rules for choosing jurisdiction by the plaintiff, the parties may exercise their right to choose contractual jurisdiction. If the claim arises from an agreement and this agreement stipulates in which court disputes should be resolved, the plaintiff can appeal exclusively to this court. An agreement on which court should resolve the dispute can be concluded separately, in particular, within the framework of a pre-trial (for example, negotiation, claim) procedure for resolving the dispute.

Contractual jurisdiction is impossible only in cases where the rules of exclusive jurisdiction should be applied to the claim. They are established by art. 38 Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. The same rules apply in all other cases, including in situations where the plaintiff formally has the right to choose jurisdiction.

Status Features

So, what do justices of the peace do? The same as their colleagues in other courts of the country, according to their competence: they accept cases for their proceedings and make decisions on them. Thanks to this, they have the same privileges as other judges in terms of immunity (a special procedure for bringing them to criminal and disciplinary liability).

The state provides additional guarantees in the form of the right to retire earlier than the majority of citizens. The salary of Themis's servants is significantly higher than that of many civil servants. True, the difference in the income of members of the judicial corporation is noticeable (80 thousand rubles, instead of 200 thousand rubles per month)

Of course, additional payments are provided for length of service, for qualification class, bonus payments, etc. Actually, this is the main thing that distinguishes a justice of the peace from an ordinary one.

How to draw up and submit a claim

The statement of claim is drawn up in free form, taking into account the requirements of the law set out in Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. Thus, the statement of claim for the protection of consumer rights must contain the following information:

• name of the court chosen for the appeal;
• Full name and residential address of the plaintiff;
• information about the defendant. For individual entrepreneurs this is full name and OGRNIP, for an organization - name, address, INN, OGRN. This information can be found in the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs and the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, respectively;
• the cost of the claim, if the application contains property claims subject to assessment;
• what exactly is the violation of consumer rights with references to the relevant provisions of the law;
• the circumstances on which the plaintiff bases his claims, as well as documents proving these circumstances, including the claim and the response to it;
• list of attached documents, date and signature.

It is also better to indicate in the title of the document that this is a claim for the protection of consumer rights, so that the court does not have any procedural issues.

Sample claim

Required documents

All documents confirming the consumer’s claims must be attached to the claim. Depending on the specific dispute, these could be:

• complaint to the seller;
• response to a complaint;
• receipt of payment of state duty;
• notification of delivery of a copy of the statement of claim to the defendant;
• purchase and sale agreement, service agreement, sales receipt or other document confirming the fact of purchase;
• act of completed work, reconciliation or disagreement;
• warranty card;
• commodity examination;
• documents confirming expenses for legal services;
• power of attorney from the plaintiff’s representative if he files a claim and participates in court hearings;
• photos and videos proving the circumstances referred to by the plaintiff;
• other documents.

All documents, except for the notification of delivery and receipt of payment of the state duty, can be attached in the form of copies, and the originals can be presented at the court hearing.

You can read more about drawing up and filing a claim in our other article.

How to determine the amount of state duty

The state duty in cases of consumer rights protection is calculated only for property claims, depending on the value of the claim. The calculation procedure is enshrined in Art. 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. However, this procedure should be used taking into account the provisions of Art. 333.36 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, according to which the consumer is exempt from paying state duty if the price of the claim does not exceed 1,000,000 rubles. Thus, the state duty for consumer protection is calculated as follows:

• if the claim price is up to 1,000,000 rubles inclusive, the state duty is 0 rubles;
• if the claim price is over 1,000,000 rubles, the state duty is calculated as 0.5% of the claim price minus 1,000,000 rubles.

Also according to Art. 333.35 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, regardless of the price of the claim, the state duty will not be paid:

• Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation and full holders of the Order of Glory;
• veterans of the Great Patriotic War, disabled people of the Great Patriotic War, former prisoners of fascist concentration camps, ghettos and other places of forced detention;
• authorities and public associations filing claims in the interests of consumers.

For information on the procedure for paying state duty and other nuances of its calculation, please follow the link.

Procedure for filing a claim in court

Once the statement of claim has been formed and the place where the claim will be filed is known, you can go to court. This can be done in several ways:

• submit documents to the court reception in person or through a representative. In addition to the package of documents itself, you will need a passport, and for a representative - a notarized power of attorney;
• send the claim with attachments to the court by mail. It is better to send the shipment by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt so that it does not get lost;
• send scans of documents deleted through the electronic system of the State Automated System “Justice”.