Vladimir Putin: Esteemed judges of the Constitutional Court,
Dear friends and colleagues,
I am glad to congratulate all those present on the 10th anniversary of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. And let me say from the outset that I consider it to be a historic landmark.
This is borne out by the fact that representatives of practically all the constitutional courts of the world have come to Moscow. It marks the recognition of the international authority of the Constitutional Court of Russia, a recognition that our country is developing as a democratic rule-of-law state.
The past years have shown that the decision to establish a Constitutional Court in Russia as an absolutely new legal institution was right and justified. Its activities have contributed to strengthening democracy and legality and marked the birth of constitutional justice in the country.
The creation of the Constitutional Court in Russia provided not only an effective mechanism for protecting the Constitution. In fact, for the first time our country got a government body capable, on the basis of law, to set limits for both legislative and executive branches and occasionally cut down to size the politicians who think in terms of political expediency and not in terms of law. The still shaky Russian government consciously and responsibly accepted such self-limitation, and I consider it to be very important.
Another thing I would like to stress has to do with the independence of the Constitutional Court. As the law says, the Constitutional Court deals exclusively with the issues of law. People come here to resolve many conflicts, including between bodies of power, which means that the conflicts are political by nature. But they are solved only by legal means and in legal form.
The Constitutional Court has proved that justice that is independent and based solely on law is possible and thereby it has not only lifted the bar for the work of judges, but in many ways helped other courts in the country to come into their own professionally and to become stronger.
Today in the Constitutional Court we have an instrument that really protects the democratic system, the federative state structure, the common economic space and free enterprise and, most importantly, civil and human rights and freedoms, all established under our Constitution.
In this connection I must note that in the Constitutional Court today we have an effective instrument that protects the Constitution itself.
Our Constitutional Court has been admitted without reservations to the Conference of European Constitutional Courts. It has become possible only because its work is up to the standards of that authoritative international organisation. One of these standards is dealing with citizens’ complaints. It is a very important, perhaps the most important, function of the Constitutional Court. Any Russian citizen can go to the supreme constitutional body to seek protection of his rights. During the past ten years the Constitutional Court delivered many judgments based on citizens’ complaints: upholding the labour and social rights, the right of citizens to private property and the right of privacy.
Dear colleagues,
Today it is obvious that all the main powers vested in the Constitutional Court have turned out to be relevant. It protects the Constitution and human rights and freedoms. But there is another and no less important function of the Constitutional Court: it is taking an active part in building and strengthening the legal foundation of the state. The position of the Court in arguing its decisions exerts a powerful influence on the development of law in the country in general and helps to enhance the legal culture in the whole of our society.
The Constitutional Court of Russia does not supplant other power bodies and does not invade their competence. It has occupied a solid and definite place in the system of federal bodies of power. On the one hand, it is independent from them and, on the other hand, its decisions can influence their activities and in that sense it is a higher instance, as the constitutional justice body should be. In the popular mind, the Constitutional Court of Russia has the reputation of the key and most authoritative government body. When serious economic, social and political conflicts arise, people often come to this Court.
Of course, this key institution has not developed in a straight line. We know that repeated attempts have been made to use it as an arena of political struggle, but the principle of independence and non-interference in politics has prevailed. That principle today has been accepted and supported by Russian society, moreover, it has been confirmed by the world practice of constitutional justice.
Dear friends,
In conclusion I would like to say that responsible work of constitutional judges calls for profound legal knowledge and professional dignity and occasionally civic courage.
I thank all the members of the Constitutional Court for everything they have done and are doing to form and strengthen the Russian state and for everything they are doing for the citizens of Russia.
I congratulate you on the 10th anniversary. Thank you.