Review of Legislative Amendments to the Arbitrazh Procedure Code

On 5 January 2024 Federal Law № 667-FZ dated 25.12.2023 “On Amendments to the Arbitrazh Procedural Code of the Russian Federation” (the “Law”) came into force, which introduced significant changes to certain procedural institutions, in particular, increased the time limits for procedural actions, expanded opportunities for consideration of cases in order proceedings and simplified proceedings, etc.

I. Changes in order and simplified proceedings

In the new wording of the APC, the key changes have affected the scope of application of simplified and order proceedings. Thus, the Law substantially increases the amounts of statements of claim and claims that are subject to simplified¹ and order proceedings², respectively:

Thus, the adopted changes will allow courts to hear more disputes in order and simplified proceedings, which will redistribute the resources of the arbitrazh court system in favor of complex disputes and pay more attention to, for example, insolvency cases, corporate disputes, etc³.

The Law also changes the procedure for consideration of cases in a simplified proceeding. Now, within the framework of simplified proceedings, the court may, on its own initiative or at the motion of the entity involved in the case, hold a court hearing with the summoning of the parties, without proceeding to the consideration of the case according to the general rules⁴.

Before the amendments to the APC, the parties involved in a case could only request the court to consider the case under the general rules of claim proceedings, if it became necessary to investigate any circumstances in court. For this reason, the parties were often deprived of the opportunity to present explanations in court. The introduced amendments eliminate this problem, as they allow the court, at the motion of the parties involved in a case, to hold a court hearing with the summoning of the parties, and the existence of any specific circumstances is not required for the appointment of a court hearing.

Also the changes have affected the recovery of court costs and the indexation of awarded monies. Now the procedures for the recovery of court costs and indexation of awarded monetary funds will also be considered by the court only under the rules of simplified proceedings. Consequently, the parties in the process will have to pay more attention to the preparation of applications, since the plaintiff will be able to orally justify the claimed amount and give explanations at the hearing only if the court summons him to the hearing.

II. Change of procedural time limits

Some procedural time limits have also been amended. Mainly, the periods of time during which courts may perform the following procedural actions have been increased:

The changes introduced should be viewed in a positive light. Courts are often pressed for time when examining the circumstances relevant to the resolution of a dispute, but the Law partially eliminates these problems. Courts will now be less constrained by procedural deadlines and will have the opportunity to study the case file more carefully and to prepare better judicial acts.

III. Changes to interim measures

In the new wording, only the arbitrazh court resolution on refusal to secure a claim may be appealed, the resolution on securing a claim itself is not subject to appeal. At the same time, parties involved in a case have the right to apply to the court for cancellation of the security for the claim in accordance with Article 97 of the APC, and after consideration of the motion, such party may appeal against the court's resolution⁶.

IV. Other changes

1. Annexes to the claim. It is no longer necessary to attach copies of the certificate of state registration as a legal entity or sole proprietorship, now only an extract from the USRLE/USRIE is sufficient.
2. A cassation appeal to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Copies of the appealed judicial act shall be certified by the court only in case of consideration of the case in a closed court session.
3. Notices. A judicial notice of a dispute concerning a registered result of intellectual activity or means of individualization will also be sent to the address for correspondence specified in the State Register.
4. Application for the issuance of a court order. Clarifies what must be specified in an application for the issue of a court order. In particular, the claimant's demands, including the period for which a debt has arisen under obligations which provide for performance by instalments or in the form of periodic payments, the amount of the payment and the calculation and the circumstances on which the demands are based.
5. Appeal against a decision to leave an appeal without movement. Article 263 of the APC excludes the right to appeal against the decision to leave the appeal without movement. This procedure corresponds to the proceedings in the court of cassation instance, which also does not provide for the right to appeal the decision to leave the appeal without movement. However, if the appeal is returned after it has been left without movement, the applicant will be able to appeal against the decision to return it.

In our opinion the adoption of the Law will lead to an increase in the number of cases considered in arbitrazh courts under the simplified procedure, which should have a positive impact on the workload of the judicial system. The increase in certain procedural terms, in fact, reflects the current legal reality, so this change should only be welcomed.

¹ Article 227, paragraph 1, of the Arbitrazh Procedure Code.
2 Article 229.2, paragraph 1, of the Arbitrazh Procedure Code.
3 Explanatory Note to the Bill dated 17.11.2022.
4 On the basis of Article 228, paragraph 5 of the Arbitrazh Procedure Code.
5 The default is to retain the 10-day period, but this can now be extended to 3 months due to the complexity of the case.
6 Paragraph 7 of Article 93 of the Arbitrazh Procedure Code.