Available in Russian
Authors: Irina Dudko, Olga Kryazhkova
DOI: 10.21128/1812-7126-2024-3-135-160
Keywords: judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation; requirements for candidates for judges of the Constitutional Court; procedure for appointment of a judge of the Constitutional Court; profile of a judge of the Constitutional Court; socio-demographic characteristics of a judge of the Constitutional Court
In scholarly literature the issue of judges of the Russian Constitutional Court is traditionally considered in terms of requirements for judicial candidates, the procedure for appointment, and guarantees of their judicial status. This approach does not add to an understanding of how the profession of Constitutional Court judge is developing. The article follows a different, empirical path. The authors analyze biographical information about the judges and present a portrait of the average (typical) constitutional judge over the entire period of the Court's work. Socio-demographic and other characteristics of judges are predetermined by the requirements of the law, including those which give judicial selection bodies a choice regarding, for example, the candidate's age and experience. These are of scholarly interest. This article also reviews characteristics of judges that are not regulated by law, such as gender, nationality, place of residence at the time of appointment, and others. Its research shows, in part, the following. From 1991 until today, 35 people have served as judges. During this time, the age of a sitting judge has increased significantly: in October 1991, it was 52 years, while now it is 68. The professional background of a judge has also changed dramatically: previously it was as a legislator, now it is that of a university teacher. A non-native Muscovite has been replaced by a Saint Petersburg resident. At first, a judge was selected from alternative candidates according to a relatively transparent procedure, but later in an opposite way. The attitude towards giving state awards to judges has changed: at the beginning of the Court's history, a judge could not expect them, but now a judge has an average of three awards from the President of the Russian Federation. But four socio-demographic characteristics of a typical constitutional judge have not changed over time: male gender, Russian nationality, higher legal education received in Soviet times, and an academic degree of Doctor of Law. The authors believe that the main issue arising in this regard and in need of further discussion is the chronic shortage of female Constitutional Court judges.
About the authors: Irina Dudko – Candidate of Sciences (Ph.D.) in Law, Associate Professor, Russian State University of Justice, Moscow, Russia; Olga Kryazhkova – Candidate of Sciences (Ph.D.) in Law, Associate Professor, Russian State University of Justice, Moscow, Russia.
Citation: Dudko I., Kryazhkova O. (2024) Sud'i Konstitutsionnogo Suda Rossii: kto oni? [Judges of the Constitutional Court of Russia: who are they?]. Sravnitel'noe konstitutsionnoe obozrenie, vol.33, no.1, pp.135–160. (In Russian).
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