RUSSIA:Creating an independent court system would increase president Dmitry Medvedev's power and popularity, writes Peter Finn, in Moscow
YELENA VALYAVINA, a senior judge at the Federal Arbitration Court, electrified a Moscow courtroom last month when she stated openly what had long been unspoken: the Kremlin has pressured and threatened the Russian judiciary to secure favourable rulings.
The testimony by such a senior judge was cause for some cautious optimism that calls by Russia's new president, Dmitry Medvedev, for an independent court system might actually be genuine. Not least because Valyavina's boss, chief justice Anton Ivanov, is one of Medvedev's oldest and closest associates.
During the eight-year presidency of Vladimir Putin, courts were politicised as part of a broad centralisation of power in the Kremlin that also brought controls on the news media, the effective renationalisation of strategic industries and the marginalisation of opposition political parties. With the formal handover of power now a month old, Russians are watching to see whether the country will head in a new direction.
During the election campaign and since becoming president, Medvedev has stressed the primacy of the law as a guarantor of democratic rights and an antidote to endemic corruption, themes implicitly critical of Putin's rule. "Our main goal is to achieve independence of the courts as a reality," Medvedev said at a meeting last month in the Kremlin with senior judges and legal officials. He added that unjust decisions "come as a result of different kinds of pressure, like telephone calls, and, there's no point in denying, offers of money".
Putin's public statements have a different tone. Medvedev's predecessor has often appeared to overshadow him in his first days as president. He has held forth on foreign policy - the president's prerogative, according to the Russian constitution. And in an interview with Le Monde, Putin appeared to forget momentarily that he is no longer president.
Asked whether he could convince the French president that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons programme, Putin said: "I assure you that the president of France is no less well informed than the president of Russia." He paused before adding, "Let alone the former president of Russia."
So far, there has been little daylight between Putin and Medvedev on economic, social or foreign policy issues. But legal reform could be a key mechanism through which Medvedev could distinguish himself. And, according to political analysts, it could siphon to the new president some of Putin's popularity because the public is disillusioned with the legal system, whether it's the traffic police or the Supreme Court.
"It was not the rule of law, it was the rule of fear," said Yevgeny Kiselyov, who hosts a political talk show on Echo Moskvy, a Russian radio service. "Everyone feared that the present system could crush him. Ordinary people feel defenceless and frustrated. But if the idea appears that because of Medvedev's decisions there is suddenly a place to go in Russia to protect your rights, his popularity will grow."
But legal reform is one of Russia's oldest empty promises. "I pray for Medvedev, but I'm reserved," said Sergei Pashin, a former judge and a professor at the Moscow Institute of Economics, Politics and Law. "We have often heard the correct words and seen no action. There is great resistance." So far, there are plenty of examples of the old style of law enduring.
In a speech in Moscow this week, Tony Hayward, chief executive of the British-based oil giant BP, called for the "consistent application of the rule of law" after the head of BP's joint venture in Russia, TNK-BP, was called before the tax authorities. That followed a raid on the company's offices by the security services and the withdrawal of visas from some of its foreign employees.
The various investigations appear to be linked to a struggle between BP and its Russian partners for control of the venture. The probes illustrated the continuing ability of connected insiders to mobilise the police and other legal structures to press private disputes. The legal system under Putin was often a weapon to neutralise business or political enemies, most famously the tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who is serving eight years for tax evasion and fraud.
His oil company, Yukos, was broken up. Courts in Britain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Liechtenstein and Lithuania described the Yukos proceedings as politically tainted when they rejected motions from Russian prosecutors seeking the extradition of Yukos officials or material for trials in Russia.
Khodorkovsky's lawyers say their client's fate could become the measure of Medvedev's reform agenda. During a visit to Berlin on Thursday, Medvedev was pressed on the issue by German leaders but appeared to damp down speculation that he might pardon Khodorkovsky.
Judge Valyavina made her statement as a defence witness in a libel case. Valery Boyev, a Kremlin official, had sued Vladimir Solovyov after the broadcast journalist said that "there are no independent judges in Russia. There are judges who depend on Boyev." Valyavina told a Moscow court that Boyev came to see her in 2005 after she handed down a ruling against the Federal Property Fund.
"He spoke about state interests, saying that apparently I did not understand clearly what those interests were," said Valyavina, who was in her first six-year term. "I was told directly that if I was going to request reappointment for the second term, I would have problems." After Valyavina's testimony, Boyev withdrew his suit before three other judges could testify. - ( LA Times - Washington Post service)