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Yalanzhi & PartnersCriminal defence in Russia

Challenging a verdict

A verdict has been handed down. What can still be done?

Russian criminal procedure provides several successive routes of challenge after conviction: appeal, cassation, the Supreme Court, and — where a law itself is the problem — the Constitutional Court. They are not interchangeable. Each looks at different questions and each closes at a different point.

  • Honest assessment of whether a challenge has prospects before you spend money on it
  • Appeal within 15 days — facts and law are both still open
  • Cassation — significant breaches of law that affected the outcome
  • The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, and a complaint to its Chairman
  • Complaint to the Constitutional Court where the statute itself is unconstitutional
  • Review of a sentence already being served — parole and commutation

The ladder, in order

1. Appeal — apellyatsiya. Filed within 15 days of the verdict. The appeal court can re-examine both the facts and the law, hear evidence again, and change the sentence. This is the widest opportunity and the shortest deadline. Details on the appeal page.

2. Cassation — kassatsiya. Once the verdict has entered into force. The cassation court does not re-establish facts; it looks for breaches of law significant enough to have affected the outcome. Filed within six months for the "continuous" route, after which the case can still be raised but only at a judge's discretion. Details on the cassation page.

3. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. A second level of cassation before the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases, and beyond it supervisory review before the Presidium. See Supreme Court appeal.

4. A complaint to the Chairman of the Supreme Court. Where a single judge has refused to refer a cassation complaint to a hearing, the Chairman or a deputy may disagree with that refusal. A narrow but real remedy — see complaint to the Chairman.

5. The Constitutional Court. Not an appeal. It examines whether the law applied in the case is compatible with the Constitution. See Constitutional Court complaint.

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

A point families need to know about the European Court

Many people abroad assume that a Russian conviction can ultimately be taken to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. That route is closed. The Russian Federation ceased to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights on 16 September 2022, and the Court has no jurisdiction over acts occurring after that date.

We say this plainly because families are still being told otherwise. Any strategy that relies on Strasbourg as a backstop is built on something that no longer exists.

Choosing where to start

Which stage applies depends on one thing: whether the verdict has entered into legal force. It enters force when the appeal period expires without an appeal, or when the appeal court rules. Before that point the route is appeal; after it, cassation.

If you are unsure where the case stands, tell us the date of the verdict and whether an appeal was filed. That is enough for us to say what is still open and what has closed.

What we will tell you before taking the case

Not every conviction is worth challenging, and a family in distress is easy to sell hope to. Before we take on a challenge we read the verdict and the appeal decision and give a written assessment of the prospects, including where we think the argument is weak.

Sometimes the answer is that the strongest available step is not a further appeal at all, but an application for parole or for commutation under Article 80 of the Criminal Code. That is a real result, and it is often reachable when another appeal is not.

Frequently asked

The 15-day appeal deadline has passed. Is everything lost?

No. A missed deadline can be restored by the trial court where there was good reason for missing it — including late service of the verdict on a defendant in custody, or the absence of a translation. And independently of that, the cassation route opens precisely when the verdict enters into force. Missing the appeal narrows the options; it does not close them.

Can a sentence be increased on appeal?

Only if the prosecution or the victim has also appealed asking for that. An appeal filed by the defence alone cannot make the defendant's position worse — this is the rule against reformatio in peius, in Article 389.24 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

How long does each stage take?

Appeal is usually heard within one to three months of filing. Cassation commonly takes two to six months. Supreme Court cassation is longer and less predictable. A case that goes through every stage can run for two years or more.

Can you take over a case that another lawyer has already appealed?

Yes, and it is a large part of what we do. Coming in at cassation after an unsuccessful appeal is normal. We will need the verdict, the appeal decision and, where possible, the case file.

See also

Related services

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.

Cassation

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

Six months from the verdict entering into force for continuous cassation. After that, only the discretionary route remains.

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.