Many businesses and individuals who require Russian document translations need them for legal reasons, and must seek out the services of a certified Russian translator. A certified translator will ensure that their materials are legally acceptable in court by providing an affidavit with each Russian document translation swearing to the fact that the document has been translated accurately and faithfully to the text in the source language. Because so many Russian document translations are made for legal reasons, it might be interesting to investigate the Russian government and legal system in more depth.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation, which was adopted in 1993 after the fall of the Soviet Union, outlines the legal system of the Russian Federation, and is considered the nation’s supreme law. This constitution was meant to guide Russian judges when they are ruling, and carries more legal weight than federal and local laws do. These laws are enacted in the form of Statutes, which are written and voted on by the Russian legislature. The main source of civil law is the Civil Code of Russia, which outlines laws on ownership of property, successions, intellectual property, and other civil obligations. It is this area of government, along with the courts, that most people seeking Russian document translations will be dealing with.

The President and government agencies have limited powers to enact laws of their own, provided that they act in accordance with the constitutional laws already in place. Agencies in particular are limited by the policies they can enact, although the president can use these agencies to bypass the legislative system. The legislature, in turn, can pass statutes that limit the agencies’ power to enact laws further. It is imperative that foreign companies operating in Russia understand these statutes and regulations, and in order to do so, they must have access to a reliable Russian document translation service provider.

Originally, judges in Russia could not make common law rulings—that is, they could not make decisions based on precedent—they instead relied entirely on the text of the constitution for their interpretation of the law. As such, a previous ruling could be introduced at trial, but had little influence on the judges’ decisions. In the last few years, Russian courts have allowed what they call Settled Judicial Practice, the ability to refer to previous cases when ruling on a legal matter. Judges have also increasingly referred to the published opinions of other judges from similar cases as a means of filling in holes in the Russian legal system. This does not bind the lower courts to follow their decisions, as it does with the higher courts in the United States, but many judges find the arguments convincing, and will consider them when making their own decisions. Russian document translation could be very valuable to anyone involved in Russian legal matters, as it would allow them to better understand the legal opinions that could potentially influence judges.

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, much like its counterpart in the United States, rules on the constitutionality of laws, as well as that of the regulations enacted by government agencies. Their decisions bind the other branches of government to act accordingly, retracting the laws and policies as they are told.