The Significance of Judicial Practice in the Legal System of Russia: A Сritical Analysis of Judicial Acts in Corporate Disputes

The author considers the significance of judicial practice in the legal system of Russia. Despite the fact that Russia belongs to the countries of the continental legal family, where only normative legal acts are recognized as sources of law and the precedent in the sense that is given to it in common law countries is not a source of law, judicial practice in the form of legal standings of superior courts should actually be recognized as a quasisource of Russian law. The author analyzes some rulings of the Supreme Court in corporate disputes, identifying contradictions in their standings to legislation or judicial practice. Using examples of specific corporate disputes, the author considers the possibility and conditions for applying the law by analogy, namely, the existence of a gap in the regulation of similar relations. With regard to the interpretation of the rule of law by the courts, it is emphasized that it is inadmissible to use the method of interpretation that violates the principles of law and its fundamental ideas. The author wonders whether the courts in individual judicial acts can deviate from the established legal standings and assess business decisions. In the author’s opinion, it is quite obvious that the uniformity of judicial practice is the most important element of the principle of legal certainty, a guarantee of the stability of relations regulated under civil law.

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