HOW THE COURTS OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES OPERATE DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

While the Russian judges continue to consider only those cases that are urgent until the end of April, legal experts continue to analyze the practice of preventive measures in the courts of different countries. According to Natalia Pavlova, the judge of the Russian Armed Forces, on the one hand, it is important to protect the rights in a timely manner, and on the other hand, to ensure the safety of the population.

It turned out that the judicial authorities tried to send a significant part of the judiciary home almost everywhere, providing a remote working regime. It is possible that the experience of taking judicial verdicts from home will be consolidated in the work of the judges after the pandemic and the lifting of restrictive measures. So the joint decision on the extension of the special regime in Russian courts, adopted by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Council of Judges, does not look unusual anymore if we look at the practice of the foreign courts.

Among the European countries, the most difficult pandemic situation has developed in Spain and Italy.

By a royal decree, all procedural terms were suspended in Spain on March 14. By the decision of the Consejo General del Poder Judicial (the judicial authority in the country), the legal proceedings were completely suspended in the country.

However, Spain has retained the practice of considering cases under labor and administrative law. These are cases mainly related to the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms (interests of minors, detention, placement in psychiatric clinics), as well as the interim measures and enforcement proceedings (in situations, where procrastination threatens to cause serious damage). The judges of the advanced age in Spain were transferred to the regime of social isolation, and all those, who are not responsible for the operation of the equipment and the workflow, are working remotely ’.

A similar situation has developed in Italy, where until April 15, all procedural terms were suspended, and the court hearings were postponed by relevant decrees (11/2020 and 18/2020). There is a judicial procedure solely in relation to urgent cases in which civil, family disputes and criminal procedural issues (for example, detention) are considered. An unprecedented decision is that until mid-2020, all appeals to the courts and workflow (delivery of notices, appeals to the court) were transferred to electronic format.

In some countries, such as the Netherlands, legal restrictions are milder. Despite 26.5 thousand cases of infection and 2,823 deaths from COVID-19, recorded in the country, the authorities are in no hurry to introduce an emergency regime, for which a special law from 2013 provides a special regime for the operation of courts and the flow of procedural deadlines.

Although the country also practiced the remote work of judges, and meetings with the participation of the parties were canceled until April 28, the procedural deadlines were not postponed.

In Belgium, a crisis period was introduced before April 19 - this means that no court hearings are held until the end of it and a month after. However, if the parties have submitted all their arguments in writing, the judge may consider them without a hearing. As for the work of the notaries, in Belgium they still work by video link.

The video communication method is also actively used in Kazakhstan - a state of emergency has been introduced there and people cannot leave their homes.

Citizens submit appeals in electronic form, and participate in meetings via smartphones and other gadgets. If it is impossible to conduct a trial by video link, the case is adjourned until the completion of the state of emergency.

In Turkey, the work of the courts has been suspended, and the Constitutional Court continues to accept only statements that are urgent. All activity takes place remotely.

If in the early stages of the pandemic, hearings in many countries were held in by video, now the public hearings are almost universally cancelled, postponed or suspended. Several centuries ago, as history testifies, the practice of public executions was also popular, and then it was gradually abolished in almost all countries for reasons of humanity. Is there a similar fate awaiting most of the public hearings, which are now being cancelled for security reasons before COVID-19?