The arbitration process, in particular, and civil, involves the establishment of jurisdiction and jurisdiction of various disputes. Only if this problem is correctly resolved can a case be considered on the merits of a judicial institution. What are the main criteria for determining jurisdiction and jurisdiction specifically in arbitrations? In what cases can the position of the parties to a dispute affect their establishment?
What is the specificity of the jurisdiction of arbitration?
The jurisdiction and jurisdiction of the arbitration court are governed by the provisions of the APC of the Russian Federation. The first term denotes the delimitation of competencies established by law between the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, arbitrations, and also institutions of general jurisdiction. That is, this or that court has the right to consider only those cases that are subordinate to it on the basis of the applicable law. With regard to arbitration, their competence is limited mainly to the consideration of economic disputes between enterprises.
Thus, the main criterion for the jurisdiction of certain cases to arbitration is the nature of the legal relationship. In this case, we are talking about economic disputes. There is another important criterion for the jurisdiction of arbitration - the subject composition of legal relations. Consider its specifics in more detail.
The subjective composition of legal relations as a criterion of jurisdiction: nuances
In accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, arbitration tribunals consider economic disputes in which the following entities may participate:
- legal entities, individual entrepreneurs;
- in cases stipulated by law - individuals, not registered as individual entrepreneurs;
- authorities, as well as institutions that do not have legal entity status.
Given the nature of the legal relationship, as well as the criterion in question, arbitrations can thus resolve economic disputes in the field of:
- civil legal relations;
- administrative legal relations.
The jurisdiction and jurisdiction of cases to arbitration courts may thus fall under the jurisdiction of administrative law. In this area of legal relations, arbitration tribunals have the right to consider cases that are related to:
- challenging normative acts that violate the rights and interests of an economic entity;
- challenging non-normative acts of the authorities;
- administrative offenses, if their consideration is within the competence of an arbitration institution.
There are a number of nuances that characterize the jurisdiction of cases in the relevant legal relations.
Jurisdiction of cases in arbitrations: nuances
So, in practice, a significant part of the disputes that are within the jurisdiction of the relevant institutions (their jurisdiction is also related to the arbitration court) is related to contesting decisions and decisions of various regulatory authorities. Moreover, legal acts issued by specific officials may also be challenged. Among other disputes, the resolution of which is within the competence of the arbitrations:
- bankruptcy claims;
- disputes on the establishment, reorganization, and also liquidation of firms;
- disputes about the registration of enterprises;
- disputes between holders of securities and business entities;
- Cases related to the protection of an enterprise's business reputation.
Of course, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, other conditions of jurisdiction of cases (types of jurisdiction) to arbitration courts may arise. In some cases, the institutions in question are also entitled to resolve corporate disputes. But in this case the following are taken into account:
- the nature and nature of the subject of disagreement of the parties to the legal relationship;
- Features of the enterprise carrying out economic activities;
- grounds for the occurrence of a legal relationship between the parties to the dispute;
- Features of the legal form of the enterprise.
It is very common for business entities to apply for arbitration when resolving disputes related to non-fulfillment by contractors of firms of contractual obligations.
Thus, the main area of competence of arbitrations is the consideration of:
- civil disputes - within the framework of legal relations, which are governed primarily by the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation;
- cases related to commercial or other economic activity (in disputes arising from the fulfillment by the parties of the terms of the contracts, the supply of goods, transfer of compensation for certain goods and services).
Parties to disputes that are under the jurisdiction of arbitrations are most often citizens registered as entrepreneurs, business owners, and business entities. In some cases, state and municipal authorities may become parties to disputes. With the participation of arbitrations, it is possible to resolve disputes in the field of administrative legal relations, if those are mainly of an economic nature.
Jurisdiction is the most important condition for the consideration of a particular case by an arbitration court. Only in cases where a judicial dispute has certain characteristics, it is considered by the arbitral institution.
First of all, the nature of the legal relationship is taken into account, in this case it should be economic. If this is not the case, then the case may be attributed to the competence of the court of general jurisdiction.
The legal status of the parties to the dispute also matters. If they are not commercial organizations, then the case may also be subordinate to the court of general jurisdiction. Of course, Russian legislation may establish exceptions to these rules.
Along with jurisdiction, a significant role in resolving economic disputes is played by the jurisdiction of the arbitration court. Consider its specifics in more detail.
What is the specificity of jurisdiction in the arbitration process
The jurisdiction of the arbitration court is the procedure for referring a particular case to the competence of a particular institution, based on its various characteristics. Jurisdiction in the arbitration process is classified into 2 main varieties:
- generic;
- territorial.
Consider what they are.
Tribal jurisdiction
Tribal jurisdiction of cases to arbitration courts involves the delimitation of competencies in the examination of certain cases between institutions located at different levels of the judicial system.
So, in accordance with the norms of the agro-industrial complex of the Russian Federation, disputes at the first instance level are considered by the arbitration courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. In this way, for example, the jurisdiction of the Arbitration Court of Moscow and St. Petersburg is determined. In turn, a significant amount of cases is within the competence of the RF Armed Forces (in 2014, the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation transferred to its competence as a result of judicial reform), namely:
- questions about contesting normative acts signed by the president of Russia, issued by the government, federal departments, if the relevant legal acts affect the rights and interests of the business entity;
- questions of contesting non-normative legal acts issued by authorities, economic disputes between federal and regional authorities, between the subjects of the Russian Federation.
Let us now consider what constitutes the territorial jurisdiction of arbitration courts.
Territorial jurisdiction
This term corresponds to a set of arbitration and procedural rules that establish the criteria for delimiting the competence of certain institutions that are at the same level of the judicial system. That is, the jurisdiction of cases to arbitration courts of specific subjects of the Russian Federation is determined. All of them have the same legal status. The jurisdiction of the Moscow arbitration court is determined on the basis of the same criteria, on the basis of which similar competencies are established in relation to institutions that operate in any other region of the Russian Federation.
Types of territorial jurisdiction
In accordance with the APC of the Russian Federation, territorial jurisdiction is classified into several varieties:
- general;
- alternative;
- contractual;
- exceptional.
We study the features of each of them in more detail.
General territorial jurisdiction
The rules governing the type of territorial jurisdiction in question presuppose the direction of arbitration claims at the place of registration or residence of the defendant. Or in accordance with the constituent documents of a legal entity, if it is a party to the dispute. In turn, the jurisdiction of cases to arbitration courts in the event that one of the subjects of legal relations is a citizen can be determined based on the defendant's main place of residence.
Alternative jurisdiction
The rules of law that determine the appropriate type of territorial jurisdiction imply the possibility of choosing a specific institution considering the dispute directly by the plaintiff. For example, if he does not know exactly the place of registration or residence, then the lawsuit may be directed to the location of his property.
If there are several defendants in the case, then the application in this case is sent to the arbitration at the place of registration or residence of any of them. If the defendant is abroad, the alternative territorial jurisdiction of the arbitration courts involves sending a claim to the institution at the location of the property of the party to the dispute.
If the subject of disagreement is the execution of the contract, the application may be submitted to arbitration at the place of implementation of the contract. If the party to the dispute is a branch of the organization that is located outside the place of registration of the legal entity, then the lawsuit may be filed with the court, which is responsible for considering cases in the relevant territory.
Contractual jurisdiction
The contractual jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal implies the possibility of changing the criteria defined for the territorial or alternative jurisdiction in accordance with the agreement of the parties to the dispute. It is important that this agreement is reached before the arbitration accepts the lawsuit.
Exclusive jurisdiction
Another kind of territorial jurisdiction is exceptional. It involves the consideration of the case by a specific arbitral tribunal.
For example, if the subject of the dispute is real estate, then the plaintiff sends a statement to the court at the place of registration of the building. The determination of the arbitration court (jurisdiction) in the event that the subject of the application is objects in the form of ships, air vehicles, space objects, is carried out on the basis of the state registration of the relevant objects.
If the subject of the claim is disagreement under the contract of carriage, then it shall be sent to arbitration at the place of registration of the carrier. If the appeal to the court is carried out on bankruptcy, then the application should be sent to the court at the place of registration of the debtor. If it is a matter of establishing significant facts, then the jurisdiction of the disputes to the arbitration court in this case is determined based on the applicant's place of registration or residence or, if the subject of the dispute is property, at the location of the building.
If the appeal to the arbitration is carried out in order to challenge the actions of the bailiff service, then the application shall be submitted to the institution at the location of the representative of this department, which made disputed decisions or carried out illegal actions, according to the plaintiff.
If the parties to the dispute are Russian firms that conduct business abroad, the rules of jurisdiction in an arbitration court involve filing a claim with the arbitration at the place of registration in Russia.
If it is a matter of challenging the decision made by the arbitral tribunal, as well as issuing a writ of execution in the relevant case, the lawsuit is filed with the arbitration tribunal in the region in whose territory the dispute was examined.
If it is a matter of submitting an application for the execution of a decision of foreign courts, the corresponding document is sent at the place of registration or residence of the debtor or at the location of its property.
So, we examined the main types of jurisdiction of cases to arbitration courts. Now consider a number of nuances that characterize the work of arbitration institutions in solving problems within their competence. So, it will be useful to study how jurisdiction is determined in related cases.
Jurisdiction in related matters
A situation in which there is a need to solve the corresponding problem is possible if, for example, a counterclaim is filed as part of the dispute. Regardless of how obvious its jurisdiction is, it must be considered in the same arbitration as the original application. If a lawsuit is filed by a third party, in accordance with the provisions of the APC of the Russian Federation, it must be directed to the court that is considering the specific dispute.
Jurisdiction in the transfer of cases
Another noteworthy aspect of the arbitration process is the transfer of jurisdiction. The arbitral tribunal, considering a particular dispute, may, therefore, refer it to another institution in cases provided for by law. Any case accepted by the arbitration tribunal should be examined on the merits, even taking into account the possibility of its transfer to another court. The dispute is transferred from one arbitration tribunal to another, which is on the same level with it, if:
- the party that is the defendant will file a petition for referring the dispute to the arbitration at the place of residence or registration, if they were not known in advance;
- both parties to the dispute sent a petition to arbitration to consider the dispute at the location of the main evidence;
- it turned out that the arbitration has accepted the case for proceedings with violations of the rules that determine the jurisdiction of the arbitration courts of the Russian Federation;
- one of the parties to the dispute is arbitration, which should consider the case by default, based on the criteria for establishing its jurisdiction;
- Judges were recalled or there are other reasons that make it impossible to form the composition of the arbitration in order to consider a specific dispute.
In the event that a transfer of certain cases from one arbitration to another is carried out, the court shall issue an appropriate determination. Under the law, disputes between the relevant institutions on the jurisdiction of cases are unacceptable.
Summary
So, we studied the essence of jurisdiction and jurisdiction in the arbitration process. The first term corresponds to the totality of those criteria that establish that a particular case should be considered in the framework of the arbitration process. The main disputes, the resolution of which is within the competence of the arbitrations, are economic.
In the general case, commercial enterprises become parties to the case in the arbitration process. But in cases provided for by law, such may be citizens, authorities. If the jurisdiction of the dispute is established, it is necessary to determine its jurisdiction. These concepts, therefore, in many cases are considered in the same context. Thus, it is necessary to determine the jurisdiction and subsequently establish the criteria for referring the case to the competence of a particular arbitration institution.
The main types of jurisdiction of cases to arbitration courts are patrimonial and territorial (which, in turn, can be classified into several additional categories). In the first case, the distribution of competencies of arbitration is carried out taking into account the fact that the courts can carry out activities at 2 levels - regional and federal. For a particular dispute, for example, the jurisdiction of the Moscow Arbitration Court or another, which operates as an arbitration institution of a subject of the Russian Federation, can be established. In turn, certain categories of disputes can only be considered by the Supreme Court.
Territorial jurisdiction can be established taking into account a large number of criteria, such as, for example, the existence of an agreement between the parties, the operation of specific rules of law that oblige participants in the arbitration process to determine jurisdiction based on specific criteria. It is possible to transfer a case from one arbitration institution to another in cases provided for by law.
There are nuances that characterize the determination of jurisdiction in disputes in which counterclaims or statements from third parties appear. Jurisdictional issues should not involve disputes between different arbitrations regarding the consideration of certain cases. The main source of law, which the courts are obliged to focus on when agreeing on such communications, is the RF agrarian and industrial complex. This code also regulates the issues of jurisdiction of certain cases to arbitration courts.