Motorists in Russia regularly encounter the judicial system — from a trivial appeal against a fine to months-long disputes with insurance companies, dealers or road services. A court may be needed after an accident, if an OSAGO payment is denied, due to a defective car or damage caused by bad roads. At the same time, the correct choice of court at the start often determines how quickly and successfully the case will be completed.
The most frequent reasons for going to court are fines and administrative penalties, disputes after accidents and conflicts with insurers. Drivers challenge traffic police decisions, prove their innocence in accidents, seek compensation for damage or full reimbursement for repairs. A separate category is claims against dealers due to factory defects and refusals to provide warranty repairs, as well as lawsuits against utility and road services if the car was damaged due to potholes, manholes or poor road maintenance.
If it comes to appealing a traffic police fine, the driver has 10 days to file a complaint — either to the traffic police unit itself, or directly to the district court at the place of violation. The inspection's refusal can be appealed in court, and then in higher instances: regional, territorial courts or Supreme Courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. After that, there remains cassation and, in extreme cases, the Supreme Court of Russia. A special procedure applies to disputes with insurance companies: first, a mandatory pre-trial claim, then an appeal to the financial ombudsman, and only after that — the court.
Depending on the amount and nature of the dispute, the jurisdiction also changes. Justices of the peace consider cases with small amounts — usually up to 50,000 or 100,000 rubles, including disputes between individuals and part of insurance cases. Larger and more complex claims go to district courts. They are most likely to consider cases of accidents, large payments and conflicts with dealers. Further, decisions can be appealed in the courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, appellate and cassation courts of general jurisdiction.
The judicial system in Russia itself is multi-level. Courts of general jurisdiction deal with civil, administrative and criminal cases, arbitration courts deal exclusively with economic disputes between companies and entrepreneurs. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation stands above all of them, and the Constitutional Court exists separately, which considers issues of compliance of laws with the Constitution. Sometimes it is its decisions that directly affect motorists — for example, in cases of medicines and deprivation of rights.
A large number of courts and instances are needed for specialization and multi-stage verification of decisions. In practice, this means that even a simple dispute can drag on for months or years. The reasons are the high workload of the courts, lengthy examinations and formal procedures. Lawyers note that the increase in state fees has not yet led to a noticeable acceleration of processes, and a full-fledged digitalization of legal proceedings could become a real way out.
Litigation also requires financial costs. The state fee depends on the amount of the claim and the type of application, and expenses for lawyers, experts and postal services are added to it. According to the law, the losing party reimburses court costs, but in practice, courts often reduce the reimbursed amounts or distribute them in proportion to the satisfied claims. Despite this, statistics show an increase in the number of lawsuits: more and more motorists are going to court, especially in disputes with insurance companies, hoping to achieve real compensation even at the cost of a long process.