Who Is Allowed to Represent Citizens’ and Organizations’ Interests in Russian Courts?

The necessity to have a professional legal representative by your side in court is a whole other topic entirely. We won’t be getting into that. What we will be diving into today is the question of who is able to be a representative in court.

In commercial courts, only lawyers as well as other persons holding a degree in law or a doctorate in some legal specialty are allowed to represent the interests of citizens, individual entrepreneurs, and organizations. This comes with an exception in the case of representing another person’s or entity's interests in a bankruptcy case. In that scenario, any legally competent citizens can serve as representatives.

In general jurisdiction courts, lawyers and other individuals holding a law degree or a doctorate in a legal specialty can act as representatives in court within the bounds of a civil process, with the exception of cases heard by magistrates and district judges.

Within the bounds of administrative court proceedings, only lawyers and other individuals holding a law degree or a doctorate in a legal specialty are allowed to act as representatives. However, this comes with a caveat in the Administrative Court Procedure Code: by way of a power of attorney, any citizens can perform actions such as familiarize themselves with the materials of a case and obtain copies of court rulings.

Our lawyers are ready to assist you in handling disputes in general jurisdiction courts and commercial courts.