The modern world is entirely the result of the scrupulous and lengthy work of society. In other words, in order to build the form of organization that exists on the planet today, society has sacrificed time, strength, and even the lives of individuals. Such work led to the fact that in the XXI century, people achieved relative stability in relations with each other. In addition, society has improved the state form of organization. However, all this would not have been possible without the exceptional and most effective regulator of social relations. That is right today. It penetrated almost all social relations without exception. A vivid example of this is the activities of the judiciary around the world and, in particular, the Russian Federation. Such departments deal with all kinds of disputes between legal entities, as well as resolve other issues falling within the competence of their direct activities. But at the time of consideration of various issues, the courts quite often come to the conclusion that does not suit one side or another. She, in turn, begins a lengthy appeal process against a court decision. One of the types of judicial appeal is the cassation proceedings. It is endowed with a mass of characteristic features, and also has certain conditions of use. The fullest possible consideration of the issue of cassation is on the example of the institution of the same name in the civil procedure branch of law.
What is cassation?
Civil procedural law is a very universal and interesting legal industry. As part of it, a large number of cases of different directions are being examined. Moreover, in civil law there is an institution of cassation. Not every modern layman understands the essence and purpose of his presentation. The problems of the theoretical identification of the features of cassation have also been raised by scientists more than once. However, there is no purely scientific definition of this institution, since there are certain norms that directly regulate it. Thus, taking into account the peculiarities of the corresponding system of legislation, we can say that the cassation in the civil process is a specific type of court activity aimed at analyzing the legality and validity of decisions lower in the hierarchical system of bodies. In fact, cassation in this case acts as a form of control. It is available only in court proceedings and is carried out by the relevant authorities. A different approach to addressing this issue speaks of cassation in the civil process, as one of the stages in the consideration of a specific case. In both cases, the definitions are correct, but they illuminate different points of the same phenomenon.
Category History
The cassation institution did not always exist in the Russian legal system. Moreover, he came to us from France, where he was born in the XVI century. Of course, in those days the institute did not have the form in which we are all used to seeing it now. The bottom line is that the cassation of the 16th century was the prerogative of the crown.
That is, only the monarch could change judicial decisions in any way or completely cancel them. The latter delegated this right to a special body - the Royal Council. With the passage of time and the gradual establishment of democratic norms in all spheres of human life, the institution of cassation in the civil process becomes an everyday occurrence. At the same time, she completely transfers to the jurisdiction of the courts.
Institute procedural status
So, we found out that the institution of cassation in a civil proceeding is one of the forms of activity of courts to consider cases. However, the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation provides a slightly different definition of the institution. According to its provisions, cassation is a complaint about a decision or actions of a court to a body of third instance. That is, we are talking about a procedural document, a sample of which is fully described in article 41 of the Code of Civil Procedure of Russia. In this case, according to the norms of legislative acts, the institution of cassation in the civil process, or rather, its specificity, is due to three interrelated factors, namely:
- features of a specific case;
- the breadth of authority of the court of third instance;
- the availability of necessary materials;
- the actual objectives of the person filing the complaint.
Thus, the cassation proceedings in the civil process is a unique type of functionality of special state bodies.
Which individuals are available for appeal?
Any production is a confrontation of certain entities on any issues. Judicial cassation is no exception in this matter, if you do not take into account its specific features presented above. However, far from every subject can initiate this stage of the process. There are two main groups of individuals entitled to cassation. These include:
- direct participants in the case, for example: defendant, plaintiff, third parties;
- persons who were not involved in the proceedings, but the decision significantly affected their rights.
Thus, the represented entities have the right to initiate cassation proceedings in a civil proceeding. But this aspect is not the only interesting factor in production.
When is an appeal possible?
The cassation proceedings in the civil process are carried out in relation to specific decisions of the bodies of second instance, that is, appeals. This fact significantly limits the scope of activities of departments related to the second instance. Thus, according to the current legislation, cassation is possible:
- when appealing against decisions that have directly entered into legal force;
- in cases where other appeal options are fully exhausted.
The second point has many unique features. Therefore, it must be considered separately.
The essence of "other options", opening up the possibility of cassation
According to the principles of building the judiciary in the Russian Federation, an appeal of certain decisions in the third instance is possible only in cases where a person has exhausted the right to appeal. That is, up to the moment of consideration of the case in the second instance, the cassation simply cannot exist. This rule also applies to cases where the allotted time limit for appeal has expired. In such situations, the person must apply to the court to renew the term and submit a corresponding complaint to the body of second instance. There is no other way to get to the cassation.
Court of Third Instance - Powers
When contacting one or another body for help, it is necessary to understand that the scope of its activity is strictly limited. The same applies to ships. Of course, the breadth of their powers is quite large. However, this factor completely depends on the instance to which the particular court belongs. Thus, the cassation appeal in civil cases is limited to the powers of the bodies of third instance. According to the current legislation, cassation proceedings exist in order to correct violations of prescriptions of a procedural or regulatory nature, which:
- actually determined the outcome of the case;
- were admitted by representatives of justice;
- must be eliminated if it is otherwise impossible to protect private or public interests.
What the cassation court has no right to do?
Considering the framework presented earlier, in which the body of third instance is obliged to work, we can highlight a number of restrictions regarding its direct activities. Thus, the Code of Civil Procedure cassation does not give the right:
- consider evidence that has not previously been established;
- take into account new evidence not previously accepted by the court;
- interpret the documents in the case in their own way;
- ascertain the reliability of evidence;
- dictate the content of the judicial verdict to lower authorities.
The points presented prove the fact that CCP cassation is limited. However, this fact does not mean the uselessness of the complaint to the court of third instance. On the contrary, restrictions exist for the objectivity of the review of the case and help the interested party.
Complaint structure
The cassation appeal against the appeal ruling has a statutory structure. Thus, it must contain certain details, as well as have the appropriate content. Moreover, taking into account the limited competence of the courts of third instance, it is not necessary to describe disputed legal relations in the complaint, to submit new evidence or to challenge the probative value of documents submitted by another party to the process. In this case, it is necessary to understand the fact that in the cassation proceedings only the “legal errors” made are of significance. An example is the fact of non-application of a legal norm, which, based on the circumstances of the case, had to be taken into account, or the incorrect interpretation of certain legal provisions. In addition, the cassation appeal against the appellate ruling should contain references attesting to the fundamental importance of the mistakes made for the whole case and the process of its consideration. In this case, the appeal to the court of third instance will be accepted, and the person will receive qualified assistance.
Is cassation necessary at all?
Many people in the process of solving the question of the need to review the case quite often mistakenly perceive the essence of the cassation proceedings. If you don’t know whether it is worth filing a complaint, then you need to talk with a good lawyer who will verify the appropriateness of such an action. At the same time, one must understand that cassation is a pure lottery, because, as we have already indicated earlier, the third instance court checks only for errors and nothing more. Therefore, maybe you should not waste your time and energy on activities of this kind?
Conclusion
So, we found out what cassation is in the civil process. Supervision of a higher court of this kind is extremely important for the entire legal system of Russia. Indeed, the degree of objectivity in the consideration of cases in the relevant authorities depends on its effectiveness.