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Yalanzhi & PartnersCriminal defence in Russia

Cassation

Cassation: the stage most often filed badly

Cassation courts do not re-weigh evidence. They quash convictions where the law was applied wrongly in a way that affected the result. A cassation complaint that argues the facts is dismissed without a hearing — which is what happens to most of them.

  • The six-month "continuous" cassation route used before it closes
  • Selective cassation where the six months have already passed
  • Grounds framed as significant breaches of law, not as disagreement with the facts
  • Work with the appeal decision as well as the verdict
  • Representation at the cassation hearing
  • An honest prospects assessment before any money is spent

Two different cassation routes

Since the 2019 reform there are two ways into cassation, and they behave completely differently.

Continuous cassation applies within six months of the verdict entering into legal force. The complaint is filed through the trial court and the cassation court is obliged to hear it on the merits. There is no filtering judge to get past.

Selective cassation applies after those six months. The complaint goes directly to the cassation court, where a single judge decides whether to refer it to a hearing at all. Most are refused at this stage, in a short reasoned decision. There is no time limit on filing, but the practical prospects are far lower.

The difference is stark enough that the six-month deadline should be treated as the real one. If your relative's verdict entered into force recently, this is the point to act.

After the verdict enters into force. Not a rehearing — a search for breaches of law serious enough to have changed the outcome.

What counts as a ground

Article 401.15 of the Criminal Procedure Code sets the test: significant breaches of the criminal law or of criminal procedure that affected the outcome of the case. That is narrower than it sounds, and it excludes most of what people want to argue.

Grounds that work in practice include: the act was classified under the wrong article or the wrong part; the sentence exceeded what the article permits, or the rules on combining sentences were applied wrongly; the composition of the court was unlawful; the defendant was denied a defence lawyer or an interpreter; evidence was admitted that Article 75 required to be excluded; the verdict was based on evidence not examined in the hearing; the appeal court failed to address the substance of the appeal grounds at all.

Grounds that do not work: the court believed the wrong witness, the evidence was insufficient, the sentence was too harsh in the abstract. Those belong to appeal, and if appeal has been used, they are gone.

Why the appeal decision matters as much as the verdict

By cassation there are two judicial acts in play. A very common and effective ground is not a defect in the verdict but a defect in the appeal ruling — specifically, that the appeal court dismissed the appeal without engaging with its arguments. Article 389.28 requires the appeal decision to give reasons; a formulaic decision that repeats the verdict and adds "the arguments of the defence are unfounded" is vulnerable.

This is why we ask for the appeal decision at the outset. Families sometimes only send the verdict, and half the material is missing.

Where cassation goes

For most cases the first cassation instance is the cassation court of general jurisdiction covering the region — there are nine of them, plus a military one. If that court rules against you, a second cassation complaint can be made to the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. That is covered on the Supreme Court page.

Frequently asked

How many times can a cassation complaint be filed?

Once to each instance on the same grounds. A repeat complaint to the same court on grounds already considered will be returned without examination. This is why the first complaint has to be the strong one — there is no drafting practice run.

The six months have already passed. Is it worth filing at all?

It can be, but only where there is a genuinely serious breach of law. Selective cassation is filtered by a single judge and most complaints do not get past that filter. We will read the file and say plainly whether yours is in the category that does.

Can new evidence be submitted in cassation?

No. Cassation works from the existing case file. New circumstances that were unknown at the time have a separate procedure — review on newly discovered circumstances under Chapter 49 — which is a different application altogether.

Does the defendant attend?

They have the right to participate, normally by video link from the correctional facility, and to address the court. Their lawyer attends in person.

See also

Related services

Challenging a verdict

A conviction is not the end of the case. There are four further stages, and each has its own rules and its own deadline.

Appeal: 15 days from the verdict. Continuous cassation: 6 months from the verdict entering into force. Both deadlines are strict.

Appeal

15 days from the verdict. The only stage after trial where the facts themselves can still be re-examined.

15 days from the verdict — or from service of the verdict, if the defendant is in custody. Filed through the trial court.

Supreme Court

The final judicial instance. Reached after the regional cassation court, and reached by very few cases.

No absolute deadline, but only after the regional cassation court has ruled — and the sooner the better.

Chairman of the Supreme Court

When a single judge has refused to refer a cassation complaint, the Chairman may disagree with that refusal. A narrow remedy that is frequently drafted wrongly.

No formal deadline — but this is the last ordinary step, and it needs the refusal decision to argue against.