A researcher from St Petersburg University wins the ‘New Perspective on Dispute Resolution’ research paper competition
Viktor Eremin, a research associate at St Petersburg University, has won the ‘New Perspective on Dispute Resolution’ competition with his paper on the formation of the arbitration system in Russia.
Traditionally, justice has been perceived exclusively in the context of public services. However, the delegation of dispute resolution to private actors in Russia has been practiced for decades, since the early 1990s. Rapid changes in the state system and the economy gave rise to the first arbitration courts. Their establishment made it possible for the parties to a dispute to choose their own arbitrators and the place of the court hearing. Thus, the parties could expect full confidentiality, flexibility and speed of process. At that time and today, arbitration tribunals deal with disputes related to the collection of debts, the termination or amendment of contracts, and corporate disputes.
Private justice experienced a new round of development with extensive arbitration reform in the country in 2015-2017. Arbitration courts (tribunals) now have to obtain a licence from the state for their work. While the number of ‘private courts’ immediately decreased, the quality of their work improved significantly. 'It seems that with certain adjustments, we will be able to talk about private justice in Russia in the foreseeable future,' said Viktor Eremin.
Valery Musin, a prominent lawyer and Professor at St Petersburg University, was one of the founders of the national school of alternative dispute resolution. As a scholar and arbitrator of numerous arbitration tribunals in Russia and abroad, he changed the approach to civil law in the country.
In his research paper 'Is there private justice in Russia?', Viktor Eremin describes the current system of arbitration proceedings in Russia. 'I have made an attempt to step away from mere theory and to explain the current state of affairs in this sphere from the perspective of the global trend towards the formation of a state-verifiable system of private justice,' said Viktor Eremin. The author traced: the idea of the state as the only source of justice in Russia to its origin; the way this idea is anchored in contemporary legal doctrine; and to whom the state delegates the functions of dispute resolution. The researcher also outlined possible vectors for the development of Russia's private justice system.
The council of the 'New Perspective on Dispute Resolution' competition awarded Viktor Eremin first place.