On April 14, we monitored three cases in the St. Petersburg City Court, all of which were heard by the same judge, Sergey Leontyev. All lawsuits concern compensation for the violation of the right to a trial within a reasonable time. In two cases, the administrative defendants are the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, while in the case of Beregovoy, only the Ministry of Finance is involved. These cases are being heard under the Administrative Procedure Code of Russia.
In Ivanova’s case, only the representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA/MVD) appeared as a participant of the hearing. Ivanova and the representative of the Ministry of Finance did not attend the hearing, despite being duly notified, and did not provide any reasons for their absence.
The court informs the MVD representative that the requested materials from the Third Cassation Court related to the criminal case have not been received. Despite the request, the Third Cassation Court sent the case materials to the district court (instead of a City Court).
The MVD representative requests the court to postpone the hearing, stating that she needs to review the materials of the criminal case in order to present substantive objections.
Judge Leontyev decides to request the case materials from the district court and instructs the MVD to submit objections to Ivanova’s claim. As a result, the hearing is postponed until April 14.
A few minutes after the hearing, Ivanova arrives late, and the court secretary informs her about the postponement, providing her with a subpoena.
In the case of Tikhomirov, both the plaintiff and a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) are present, while Tikhomirov and a representative of the Ministry of Finance are absent. There are no objections to the consideration of the case in the current presence of the participants, so the court decides to continue the hearing.
Tikhomirov files a motion that his response to the defendant’s objections and an addition to the lawsuit be attached to the case materials. The court grants the motion and attaches the mentioned documents.
Judge: Are there any other motions?
Tikhomirov: Yes, and if I may, it’s more of a reminder because in the MVD’s response, it was mentioned that it’s impossible to establish the individuals who committed the crime… The “Fontanka” article [note: “Fontanka” is a Saint Petersburg’s media outlet], Honourable Court, were you familiar with it when we first heard our compensation claim? But I just want to remind you.
The representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs left the motion to the discretion of the court – the presiding judge attaches the publication of “Fontanka” to the case materials.
Judge Leontyev states the case.
Tikhomirov filed a lawsuit with the St. Petersburg City Court, stating that on 08.09.2014 he filed a complaint with the Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in St. Petersburg, and subsequently the case was held by the preliminary investigation authorities – the Department of Internal Affairs of the Petrogradsky District. The case hearings were repeatedly suspended, the decisions on suspension were canceled, and to date the case has not been completed. He also attached the decision of the St. Petersburg City Court of 10.09.2019, by which he has already been awarded compensation in the amount of 60 thousand roubles in the above case due to violation of reasonable time of legal proceedings. The violation of reasonable timeframes of proceedings in the case was caused by ineffective and non-administrative actions of the bodies of preliminary investigation. Requests compensation in the amount of 500 thousand roubles.
Judge: Do you support the lawsuit?
Tikhomirov: Yes, Honourable Court, I fully support my lawsuit.
Tikhomirov informs the court that his representative is running late due to a significant delay in another court hearing, but will arrive shortly. Judge Leontyev ignores this and asks to continue.
Tikhomirov states that he filed a second lawsuit because a recent decision by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated January 13, 2022, “gave a chance to those who suffer from the fact that criminal cases are not initiated at all and drag on for years. The Constitutional Court reminded that there is no second statute of limitations of 4 years, and you can file even after a year.”
Judge Leontyev makes a remark that Tikhomirov should address the substance of the case rather than quoting legislation.
Tikhomirov: Alright, then, if I may, I’ll respond to the objections of the MVD in writing… If it’s allowed, I’ll do it quickly…
Judge: So, if you’re trying to delay to wait for your lawyer…
Tikhomirov: I’m just refreshing my story, Honourable Court. Here, I’ll do it quickly…
Judge: There’s no need to refresh the story; please talk only about the things that have happened after the decision of the St. Petersburg City Court.
At that moment, a representative of the Ministry of Finance enters the courtroom, and the court announces her presence and asks if there are any motions or recusals. The Ministry of Finance representative responds negatively. Tikhomirov hands her a copy of his response to the objections.
Tikhomirov continues to speak, stating that the case has not been investigated for over 7.5 years. After Judge Leontyev’s decision on October 10, 2019, Tikhomirov was even “enthused” and thought that everything would start moving, and the case would be investigated efficiently. He himself pointed out the individuals who committed the crimes, and the court decision clearly indicated the inefficiency, lack of organization, procrastination, and inaction of the preliminary investigation authorities.
The court interrupts Tikhomirov again, stating that the decision is in front of him, and the defendants are familiar with it.
Tikhomirov continues, saying that he “took this decision to higher authorities,” to the head of the Main Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA/MVD) for St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, R. Plugin, “waving the decision, went to his deputy,” to the head of the Investigative Department, bypassing everyone. There was no response during the entire period from the date of the first application. Moreover, in the summary report provided by the investigator, there was nothing, investigative procedures, measures, no actions taken, and Tikhomirov’s motions were practically not considered by the investigator – only a few out of 10 were granted. The Constitutional Court, in its decision, reminded that such cases should be investigated within 2 months. We have filed a complaint under Article 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, trying to force the investigator to work through the court – but it was futile, both the Petrogradsky District Court and the St. Petersburg City Court rejected them. Therefore, as of today, since the decision on October 10, 2019, no investigative actions have been taken, no interrogations, which Tikhomirov requested.
The Judge raises his voice, interrupting several times with the remark that the plaintiff is repeating the same things: “You keep repeating the same thing for the fifth time, what’s not clear?”
At this moment, Tikhomirov’s representative enters the courtroom, with the court’s permission, and joins the proceedings.
Tikhomirov says he has already said everything, expressed his emotions, and requests to give the floor to his representative.
Tikhomirov’s representative supports the arguments of the lawsuit, believing that it should be satisfied due to the fact that the circumstances previously referred to have not changed.
The MVD representative supports the objections previously presented, pointing out that Tikhomirov has already been awarded compensation for the period until September 2019, and if a decision on recovery is made, the representative requests to take this into account also a full denial of Tikhomirov’s claim.
The Ministry of Finance representative supports their objections and the MVD’s position, requesting a denial of Tikhomirov’s claim.
Judge Leontyev reviews the case materials, announcing only the names of the documents: administrative claim with attached documents, a copy of the decision to initiate a criminal case, a copy of the prosecutor’s decision, the investigator’s decisions, copies of procedural documents from the criminal case, the St. Petersburg City Court’s decision of October 10, 2019, objections from administrative defendants, the supplementary administrative claim submitted during the current hearing, and the response to the objections.
The court proceeds to the closing arguments stage. The word is given to Tikhomirov’s lawyer.
The plaintiff’s representative addresses the positions of the Ministry of Finance and the MVD, believing that they boil down to describing formalized actions taken by the preliminary investigation during the period after October 10, 2019. Most of the procedural decisions were made based on motions filed by Tikhomirov, thus encouraging the investigation to take formal actions. In essence, most of Tikhomirov’s motions were denied. They believe that in this case, there is a red tape in the hearings, and therefore, they request the full satisfaction of the lawsuit.
The other participants in the proceedings decline to participate in the arguments. The court retires to deliberate.
Judge Leontyev returns from the deliberation room after a few minutes and announces the operative part of the decision: to partially satisfy Tikhomirov’s administrative lawsuit, to recover from the Russian Federation through the Ministry of Finance compensation for the violation of the right to a trial within a reasonable time in the amount of 40,000 rubles, court expenses for the payment of the state fee in the amount of 300 rubles, and to deny the rest of the claim. The decision is subject to immediate execution.
In the case of Beregovoy, a representative of the defendant, the Ministry of Finance, is present. Beregovoy did not appear, and the court informs the Ministry of Finance representative that Beregovoy requests the case to be heard in his absence. There are no objections.
The Judge has received a statement from Beregovoy requesting the recusal of the presiding judge. Judge Leontyev announces that the need for recusal is justified because cases involving Beregovoy have been previously heard by him.
The Ministry of Finance representative objects to the recusal. The court adjourns to make a decision.
Upon returning after a minute, the judge announces the operative part of the decision to reject the recusal.
Court: Beregovoy also requests to transfer the case, which was accepted with a violation of the Administrative Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, to a “regular” court. “My statement of claim contains civil law claims for compensation for damage, and so on.” What is your opinion on this motion?
The Ministry of Finance representative requests denial, since cases of this category are heard by the St. Petersburg City Court.
The court denies the motion to transfer the case based on jurisdiction, as the motion is not grounded in the current legislation, and the case falls under the jurisdiction of the St. Petersburg City Court.
The court informs the Ministry of Finance representative that Beregovoy had previously filed a similar administrative claim, but not through the court that issued the decision. Instead, he filed it through the St. Petersburg City Court. This claim was returned to him. Beregovoy appealed this decision, and the Second Appellate Court upheld it without changes. However, it was noted that the case had been pending for less than 3 years, and the district court’s decision returned the case to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Moscow District of St. Petersburg. In other words, the proceedings in the case are not completed, and he is not entitled to file a claim at all.
Court: What is your opinion on these circumstances?
Ministry of Finance representative: We request a denial of the stated claims.
The court adjourns to issue a decision. After returning from the deliberation room, Judge Leontyev announces the operative part of the decision to dismiss Beregovoy’s administrative claim without consideration.
