Russia: Legal Environment

Business Contract

General Observation: You must define precisely the seller's obligations and the methods of quality control.
Law Applicable to the Contract: Russia is a signatory to the Vienna Convention on International Contracts.
Advisable Incoterms: For preference choose CIF or more.
Language of Domestic Contract: Russian
Other Laws Which Can Be Used in Domestic Contracts: Many Russian companies use British law for their financial transactions.

National Organisations: The Russian Federal instrument for the protection of intellectual property is the Russian Patent & Trademark Office.
Given the risks of pirating in Russia, it is imperative to register with the register of trademarks to ensure protection (be careful: judicial procedures in the country are very slow).
Regional Organisations: Russia is a member of the Eurasian Patent Organisation.
International Membership: Member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
Signatory to the Paris Convention For the Protection of Intellectual Property
Membership to the TRIPS agreement - Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

Type of property and law	Validity	International Agreements Signed
Patent Patent Law	20 years	Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Trademark Law on Trademarks, Service marks and Appellations of Origin of Goods	10 years	Trademark Law Treaty Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Design Patent Law	10 years
Copyright Law on Copyrights and Relative Rights	70 years after the death of the author	Berne convention For the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms Rome ConventionFor the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations
Industrial Models Patent Law	5 years

Equal Treatment of Nationals and Foreigners: Foreigners cannot expect an impartial hearing in judicial matters.
The Language of Justice: Russian
Recourse to an Interpreter: Possible
Legal Similarities: The main source of the law is the Constitution of December 1993. The country's judicial system is based on a system of civil law and judicial reviews of various legislation.

Foundation of the State, individual rights	Constitution(1993)
Business law, property law, protection of civic rights	Civil Code
Criminal law	Criminal Code (1997)
Labour law	Labour Code (2001)
Tax law	Tax Code (1998)

The Constitutional Court	Examines the conformity of laws with the Constitution
The Supreme Court	The highest authority for civil, criminal and administrative cases. Power of Appeal.
Federal or regional Court of Appeal	Can judge serious cases in first instance
District court and Justices of the peace	Court of first instance

Lawyers/Barristers: Advise, represent and defend their clients.
About 20 000 spread over 100 colleges which intersect with judicial districts (like the Bar).
There are also about 20 000 lawyers who only work for a company (jurisconsults) and more and more American-style independent offices.
Judges: Examine cases and pass sentence.
About 20 000 who have passed an examination and then been co-opted.
Once in place, a judge has immunity and cannot be transferred.
Poorly paid and overworked, they are often suspected of corruption and lack of independence.
Prosecutors: In charge of supervising enquiries, of investigation and accusation.
About 40 000 under the Public Prosecutor.
They still have considerable power, even if this has been reduced over the last few years.

Arbitration: Arbitration is carried out by specialized courts, including for international cases.
Arbitration Law: "On International Commercial Arbitration"
"On the Arbitration Courts in the Russian Federation"
Conformity to International Commercial Arbitration Rules: Party to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
Appointment of Arbitrators: They are permanent judges specialized in commercial disputes.
According to its importance, a case may be judged by just one judge or by the presiding judge and associated judges. There are always an odd number of judges and the decision is taken by simple majority.
Arbitration Procedure: A commercial dispute may be taken to arbitration if the civil court declines jurisdiction or if the 2 parties have signed a contract expressing their common decision to appeal to this system.

The rules of procedure are simple. The system has 4 levels: 85 Courts for Federation Matters (first instance), 20 Arbitration Appellate Courts, 10 Federal District Arbitration Courts (courts of cassation) and the Supreme Arbitration Court. The arbitration decision can be appealed and possibly lodged with the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Consult the Russian Arbitration Court website for further information.
Permanent Arbitration Bodies: Supreme Arbitration Court (Sectors Covered: Commercial, personal property, real estate)

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