Preview

Law Enforcement Review

Advanced search

Incorrect interpretation of the law by the court

https://doi.org/10.52468/2542-1514.2024.8(3).122-131

Abstract

The subject of this study is the main trends that have developed in judicial practice related to the assessment of the correctness of the interpretation of the norms of law by the court. The purpose of the study was to identify the main approaches used by law enforcement agencies, primarily courts, in assessing the possible existence of an error in the interpretation of the applied law by a lower court.

General scientific and special methods of scientific cognition were used in the research. Among them are analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction, the systematic method, the hermeneutical method and the legal-dogmatic approach. In particular, published court decisions were analyzed, scientific literature and current legislation were studied, after which conclusions were drawn about the state of law enforcement practice and the prevailing trends when considering by higher courts the issue of a possible error in the interpretation of the law committed by a lower court.

The main content of the article is the results of the analysis of judicial practice, the purpose of which was to identify the main trends in judicial practice related to the assessment of the correctness of the interpretation of the norms of law by the court. The practice of applying the provisions of the procedural codes of the Russian Federation, providing for the consequences of a misinterpretation of the provisions of normative acts by the court, is considered. As a result of the conducted research, the main problems that courts face when assessing the correctness of the interpretation given by their colleagues from the lower court were identified. During the analysis, special attention was paid to such aspects as the causes of erroneous interpretation, ways to detect and eliminate the identified error, and the consequences of making an error.

Based on the results obtained, conclusions were formulated, among which it is worth noting that judicial errors in the interpretation of normative acts are quite common. At the same time, procedural legislation regulates such situations in different ways in different types of legal proceedings. Having discovered a judicial error in interpretation, the higher court most often does not indicate specific norms that have been misinterpreted, but offers its own solution to the dispute. The errors of the courts in the qualification of those mistakes made by the lower courts were also noted.

About the Authors

S. A. Belov
St. Petersburg University
Russian Federation

Sergei A. Belov – PhD in Law, Professor; Head, Department of Constitutional Law; Dean, Law Faculty

AuthorID: 235928

7/9, Universitetskaya nab., St. Petersburg, 199034



M. A. Revazov
St. Petersburg University
Russian Federation

Mikhail A. Revazov – PhD in Law, Director, Expert Center

AuthorID: 940846

7/9, Universitetskaya nab., St. Petersburg, 199034



References

1. Belyaeva O.M. Interpretation of the law. Uchenye zapiski Kazanskogo universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki, 2007, no. 6, pp. 39–47. (In Russ.).

2. Matuzov N.I., Mal’ko A.V. Theory of State and law. Moscow, 2004. 511 p. (In Russ.).

3. Timoshina E.V. (ed.). Strategies of judicial interpretation and principles of law, Teaching aid. St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg University Publ., 2022. 362 p. (In Russ.).

4. Easterbrook F. Legal Interpretation and the Power of the Judiciary. Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, 1984, vol. 87, pp. 87–99.

5. Gonzalez R.D., Vasquez V.F., Mikkelson H. Fundamentals of Court Interpretation. Theory, Policy and Practice, 2nd ed. Durham, North Carolina, Carolina Academic Press, 2012. lxxii + 1531 p.

6. Guk P.A. Judicial interpretation and application of legislation. Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedenii. Povolzhskii region. Obshchestvennye nauki = University proceedings Volga region. Social sciences, 2016, no. 2 (38), pp. 35–47. (In Russ.).

7. Amosov S.M. Judicial interpretation of the norms of law as a procedural activity. Rossiiskii yuridicheskii zhurnal = Russian juridical journal, 2003, no. 1 (37), pp. 29–32. (In Russ.).

8. Ilyin A.V. Revision of judicial acts on the basis of decisions of the Constitutional Court of Russia. Zakon, 2020, no. 12, pp. 40–60. (In Russ.).

9. Ignatescu C. The Concept of Judicial Interpretation. Postmodern Openings, 2013, vol. 4, iss. 4, pp. 17–23.

10. Zheldybina T.A. Judicial interpretation: incorrect or erroneous?. Administrator suda = Court administrator, 2019, no. 4, pp. 19–22. (In Russ.).

11. Vandrakov S.Y. Questions of interpretation of legal norms in the process of judicial cognition. Aktual'nye problemy gumanitarnykh i estestvennykh nauk, 2015, no. 8-2, pp. 44–46. (In Russ.).

12. Rabinovich P.M., Shmeleva G.G. Concretization of legal norms (general theoretical problems). Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedenii. Pravovedenie, 1985, no. 6, pp. 31–39. (In Russ.).

13. Krasheninnikov P.V. (ed.). Article-by-article commentary on the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. Moscow, Statut Publ., 2012. 640 p. (In Russ.).

14. Lazarev L.V. Legal positions of the Constitutional Court of Russia. Moscow, Gorodets Publ., Formula prava Publ., 2003. 528 p. (In Russ.).

15. Belov S.A. Compliance by courts with the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation related to the interpretation of current legislation. Monitoring pravoprimeneniya SPbGU, June 17, 2014, available at: https://pravoprim.spbu.ru/yurisprudentsiya/zawita-chesti-dostoinstva-i-delovoj-reputacii/item/65-soblyudenie-sudami-pravovyh-pozicij-konstitucionnogo-suda-rf-svyazannyh-s-tolkovaniem-dejstvuyuwego-zakonodatelstva.html (accessed February 12, 2024). (In Russ.).

16. Zeider N.B. Judgment in a civil case. Moscow, 1966. 190 p. (In Russ.).

17. Lebed K.A. Grounds for canceling illegal judicial decisions. Sotsial'no-politicheskie nauki = Sociopolitical sciences, 2020, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 143–148. DOI: 10.33693/2223-0092-2020-10-3-143-148. (In Russ.).

18. Shepelin E.A. Comparative analysis of appellate proceedings in the norms of the CPC of the Russian Federation and the CAS of the Russian Federation. Sud'ya, 2015, no. 11, pp. 9–13. (In Russ.).

19. Solovyova U.D. Criminal procedure law and its interpretation. Vestnik Yuzhno-Ural'skogo Gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya "Pravo" = Bulletin of the South Ural State University. Series: Law, 2011, no. 19, pp. 53–56. (In Russ.).

20. Zuev S.V., Galygina E.S. Methods and limits of interpretation of the norms of criminal procedure law. Pravoporyadok: istoriya, teoriya, praktika = Legal Order: History, Theory, Practice, 2013, no. 1 (1), pp. 36–41. (In Russ.).

21. Poyan N.V. Decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation as a source of civil law. Administrator suda = Court administrator, 2022, no. 3, pp. 24–28. (In Russ.).


Review

For citations:


Belov S.A., Revazov M.A. Incorrect interpretation of the law by the court. Law Enforcement Review. 2024;8(3):122-131. https://doi.org/10.52468/2542-1514.2024.8(3).122-131

Views: 533


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.


ISSN 2542-1514 (Print)
ISSN 2658-4050 (Online)