After the collapse of the USSR, countries that were previously considered its republics began to form a coalition called the CIS, or the Commonwealth of Independent States. Each year, their governments and heads of state adopt a huge number of agreements and treaties that are practically not quoted at the international level. In particular, such an assessment exists, since the process of international integration of these countries has not continued in many respects, and for many years it has stood in one place. Only recently, the once created bodies and institutions began to work at a more or less proper level. One of them can safely be called the International Economic Court of the CIS.
History reference
The creation of a special body that could intervene in economic disputes between the CIS countries was initially envisaged by the Agreement adopted by them on measures to ensure better settlements between business organizations. This document was laid in the basis of the Regulation on the CIS Economic Court.
Further development of this body continued at the same time as other institutions, but there were some peculiarities. For example, according to the agreement, this court should work continuously, and not periodically, like many other authorities of the CIS countries. All this was done by the CIS Economic Court as an interstate judicial body, which has mandatory jurisdiction in the countries that signed the Agreement, that is, in the CIS.
Court structure
Based on the latest changes that were made in 2017, the CIS Economic Court has the following structure (on its basis it functions):
- Plenum of the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
- In its entirety (that is, in addition to the President of the court) one judge sits for each CIS member country.
- The composition of the chambers, whose activities include the resolution of disputes and consideration of problems relating to the interpretation of the rule of law.
To resolve any case, a special chamber is assembled, which consists of three judges. They are appointed by the President of the CIS Economic Court at the request of one of the participating states in the ratio of one judge from each of the parties, and the third as a neutral party.
The chairman
At the moment, the duties of the Chairman are performed by Kamenkova Lyudmila Eduardovna. She represents the Republic of Belarus in the CIS Economic Court. He has been fulfilling his duties since December 15, 2011, that is, for a rather long time. She was chosen on the basis of the decision of the remaining judges. Has a large number of awards and titles. Before moving directly to this court, she worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.
Competence
At present, the competence of the CIS Economic Court includes ensuring economic obligations between all these countries. Cases that have arisen due to disputes in the field of economic obligations are sent directly to their consideration. However, by decision of the participating countries, other cases stipulated by the agreement may be assigned to them. Quite often, they also interpret the norms of economic law and advise legislative acts on issues in the economic sphere.
From this it follows that the jurisdiction of this court are cases that:
- arose directly in the performance of economic obligations between the countries of the Commonwealth and their institutions;
- they conclude that the regulatory legal acts adopted in countries on economic agreements and issues are consistent with existing acts and do not affect anyone else's rights.
Rights and obligations
Like any state body, the CIS International Economic Court has its own number of rights and obligations. For example, he has the right to request materials necessary for the consideration of cases from any of the participating countries and their authorities. All decisions of the CIS Economic Court must be taken carefully and carefully. It should be taken into account that none of the participating countries can respond negatively to the requirements of the court as long as it acts within its competence.
First of all, they should carry out their activities, fully relying on the existing Regulations of the CIS Economic Court. The trial is ongoing in a single language recognized by the interstate.
Decisions taken
The question of whether the decisions of this court are binding remains largely controversial, since their legal force is not indicated in any of the constituent documents. That is why it is believed that such decisions will become binding only in terms of legal qualifications of the circumstances of the case, and in all the rest - in what volume should the consequences and violations of the guilty state be eliminated - only advisory. Despite the degree of power such decisions have, they must, after adoption, be published in the media and official publications of all countries that are members of the Commonwealth.
Procedure for going to court
Any appeal to the CIS Economic Court is initially free of charge and is not subject to duty. If desired, an application may be sent to the interested State Party or their authorities and representatives. It must be executed in proper writing, and then sent to a fixed form of communication. Such a document should list all the required data, as well as additional documents that can help the court in making a decision.
After the application goes to court, it is sent to the Chairperson, who submits the case to the panel and appoints the judges within ten days. Within a month, the board decides whether to take the case to production or refuse. The only ground for refusal is the fact that the case is not subject to jurisdiction. Only after that, within a five-day period, interested parties are notified that the case has begun to move towards a decision, and that a date for its consideration is set.
Practice of the CIS Economic Court
Despite the fact that this authority has been operating for almost 20 years, the number of cases examined by it is rather small, therefore the judicial practice of their decisions is insignificant. It should be borne in mind that most of them relate exclusively to the interpretation of economic norms. A total of judicial economic disputes between the states were resolved around 13. The only case that was significant for international practice was the Decision on the case "on protecting the rights of investors", which was reviewed in September 2014.
That is why the practical meaning of this judicial body should be sought in the field of interpretation. It is widely used in the CIS countries, especially in Belarus and Russia, and is also often taken into account by experts who write the content of contracts.
Main disadvantages
As can be understood from all of the above, the economic court has a number of significant problems that prevent it from working at full capacity.
- First of all, it should be understood that its competence is very limited, especially when compared with the powers of other courts at the regional level.
- Due to the lack of legal status of the decisions of this court, they remain advisory, therefore their non-enforcement does not lead to punishment.
- The composition of the court apparatus is appointed by the CIS countries, which gives significant restrictions, because the participants themselves can not appoint the desired candidacy.
All this leads to the fact that it becomes simply not clear whether such a body can be considered a court at all. Most of all, it resembles the attempt of previously united countries to create a structure reminiscent of an arbitration court, but in practice it turned out to be some kind of supervisory body that can only act as an adviser and interpreter.
That is why it is important to reform this institution by thoroughly changing its constituent documents in order not only to expand its competence, but also to make decisions binding.