Mr Putin noted that arbitration justice had become a full-fledged element of the country’s judiciary system.
The appearance of arbitration tribunals in Russia coincided with the emergence of privately owned properties, he said, recalling that justice had reached a new area – a market economy which was witnessing key processes setting the direction of the country’s development. As arbitration tribunals were set up the need became urgent to improve the administration of public and private property. At the same time, the President was not sure that either goal had been achieved.
Nevertheless, the activities of these tribunals contributed a lot to a good feeling within companies and the economy as a whole, the President said. He cited the following figures: over the previous ten years arbitration tribunals had examined four million cases, and 60% of them were won by taxpayers.
At the same time, the President indicated that mediation and reconciliation procedures were seldom practised, nor examination of disputes in courts of private arbitration.
The President urged the need to staff the courts better and to fight court corruption, something the judges themselves were also interested in.
He considered one of the main functions of the authorities was to make courts available to ordinary people. The President said this answering journalists’ questions after a meeting dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the establishment of arbitration tribunals.
The President noted that the state must give every support to the judiciary. In that context he named two main goals – improving the financial remuneration of judges, for which purpose considerable allocations were made this year, and modernising the facilities and equipment of the courts.