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History of court and justice in Russia: in 9 vols / res. eds. V.V. Ershov, V.M. Syrykh. Vol. 9. History of constitutional justice in Russia / V.A. Kryazhkov, M.A. Mityukov
 
PIIS102694520022212-4-1
DOI10.31857/S102694520022212-4
Publication type Review
Status Published
Authors
Tatiana M. Khramova 
Occupation: associate Professor of the Public Law Department of the Law Faculty
Affiliation: National Research University “Higher School of Economics”
Address: Russian Federation,
Alexandra A. Troitskaya
Occupation: Professor of the Constitutional and Municipal Law Department
Affiliation: Faculty of Law at Lomonosov Moscow state University
Address: Russian Federation
Journal nameGosudarstvo i pravo
EditionIssue 9
Pages191-194
Abstract

The review discusses a recent publication dedicated to the history of the Russian Constitution Court, its formation and evolution. The book is one-of-a-kind in the sense that it meticulously reveals the stages of transformation of constitutional justice in Russia. The authors present a rich historical and legal material – from the Orders of Catherine II, inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment, until the aftermath of the constitutional reform 2020 – in a lively and thrilling manner. A balanced academic approach has enabled the authors to demonstrate the whole variety of viewpoints that exist in the literature regarding various aspects of the formation, organization and performance of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. Overall, the book shows the specific features of the Russian model of constitutional justice, its role in the legal order and the peculiarities of its interaction with other actors. The book raises questions regarding the meaning and consequences of numerous transformations of the system of constitutional review that have taken place in Russia. Particularly, it identifies the risks associated with the large-scale reform of 2020, and highlights the challenges that the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is facing in the aftermath of the latest transformation.

KeywordsConstitutional Court of the Russian Federation, historiography of constitutional justice, the Supreme Court of the USSR, the Committee for Constitutional Supervision of the USSR, constitutional (charter) courts of the subjects of the Russian Federation, constitutional reform.
Received02.09.2022
Publication date28.09.2022
Number of characters14012
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1 The role of the constitutional review in the democratic legal order is vital. Its significance is determined by the essential role that constitutional courts play in ensuring the supremacy of the national constitution and protection of fundamental human rights from violations by the current ruling majority. A constitutional court ensures that the constitution preserves its key features (supremacy, direct effect, the basis for current legislation, etc.), and creates the prerequisites for the constitution to have a real impact on the political and legal systems. The general idea that the meaning of the basic law shall be determined by a body of constitutional review is firmly rooted in the majority of modern legal orders. However, the effectiveness of such a review model may be compromised by the existing rules of constitutional interpretation, the regulation of the powers of constitutional review bodies, the distortion of the system of checks and balances, etc.
2 The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation has its specific characteristics – in terms of both formation and functioning. The Russian legal scholarship has produced many studies devoted to its operation, but, admittedly, to a great extent, they focus on the formal aspects of the Court’s status (peculiarities of the formation of the Court, its powers, the role in the system of separation of powers, the status of judges) or its decisions in specific areas. The demand for academic research that looks into the essence of constitutional justice is becoming more and more noticeable1. 1. See, for example: Konstitutsionnyy Sud Rossii: Osmysleniye Opyta [The Constitutional Court of Russia: reflections on the experience] / ed. A. Medushevsky. M., 2022; Kravets I.A. Konstitutsionnoye Pravosudiye. Teoriya Sudebnogo Konstitutsionnogo Prava i Praktika Sudebnogo Konstitutsionnogo Protsessa [Constitutional Justice: Theory of Judicial Constitutional Law and Practice of Judicial Constitutional Process]. M., 2017.
3 The book of V.A. Kryazhkov and M.A. Mityukov is one of the few fundamental works in the field of constitutional justice in Russia. In is written for the audience who strives to understand why constitutional review functions in a peculiar way in Russia, and for this purpose, connects the history of its development with its present features and challenges. The publication is unprecedented, in the sense that the authors have set and brilliantly fulfilled the task of interdisciplinary – historical and constitutional – analysis of the origins, formation and development of judicial constitutional review in Russia.
4 The book consists of seven sections, encompassing 24 chapters. The sections are devoted to the historiography of constitutional justice in Russia (Section 1); its origins in late 18th - early 20th centuries (Section 2); judicial constitutional supervision in 1924 - 1933 (Section 3); views, projects and institutional prerequisites for constitutional review in the 1930s - early 1990s (Section 4); the creation of the Constitutional Court of Russia and its activity during the first years (1990 - 1993) (Section 5); modernization of the status and the performance of the Russian Constitutional Court (1993 - 2000s) (Section 6); constitutional justice in the federated units of Russia (Section 7). This reasonable structure, aimed at achieving an ambitious academic task, is explained in the very beginning of the book, and the authors strictly follow their plan.
5 The authors have meticulously thought through the methodology of their study. Along with the formal legal method, they make use of an interdisciplinary approach which enables them to combine the research tools and apparatus of political science, sociology and psychology of law. The legal analysis is also enriched by the appropriate use of comparative and historical research methods.
6 As a result, the authors have managed to present an impressive coverage of the history of constitutional justice in Russia – from the Orders of Catherine II, inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment, to the extensive constitutional reform 2020. This overview has provided the authors with the evidence that “the ideas of judicial constitutional review have taken over two centuries to form and become an integral part of Russian constitutionalism” (p. 112). The book does not simply point out, but lucidly explains the theoretical and practical significance of the constituent elements of this process: government (official) projects, constitutional ideas of the late 18th century, projects of the Decembrists and liberal constitutionalists of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, political discussion and normative design of the system of constitutional supervision in the Soviet Russia, prerequisites for the institutionalization of constitutional review in the end of the 20th century, reforms of the Russian Constitutional Court.
7 Noteworthy, the authors devote their attention to the struggle of ideas related to the rise of constitutional review in the country. One of the most valuable features of this book is that in addition to the voices of the epochs, it reproduces the voices of specific people – scholars, politicians, judges and even ordinary citizens. It must be admitted that such an approach (presenting historical eras, large-scale phenomena, significant events through the “eyes” of actual participants) plays a special role in historical studies. Having adopted this approach to constitutional scholarship, the authors have managed to publish a volume rich in theoretical insights, as well as personal reflections and comments of the observers.

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1. History of court and justice in Russia: in 9 vols / res. eds. V.V. Ershov, V.M. Syrykh. Vol. 9. History of constitutional justice in Russia / V.A. Kryazhkov, M.A. Mityukov. M., 2022. P. 108, 109, 112, 119, 169, 184, 231, 236, 237, 260, 304, 343, 370, 383, 403–405, 460, 488, 509, 539 (in Russ.).
2. Kravets I.A. Constitutional Justice: Theory of Judicial Constitutional Law and Practice of Judicial Constitutional Process. M., 2017 (in Russ.).
3. The Constitutional Court of Russia: reflections on the experience / ed. A. Medushevsky. M., 2022 (in Russ.).

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