MOSCOW, September 28 (RAPSI) – The fact that the Russian legislation lacks definition of conflict of interest concept causes problems as to appointment and reappointment of judges; due to the vague legislative framework deserving candidates for positions of judges are often unjustifiably rejected, Chair of the Council of Judges and member of the Presidium of Russia’s Supreme Court Viktor Momotov believes.

Lack of proper legal regulation of the conflict of interest category has a negative effect as to appointment of judges, Momotov observed. First of all, this concept needs to be a juridical fact proved under respective procedures and not a presumption or a “shadow” elusively following a candidate, the Council of Judges’ Chair noted addressing participants of an alignment meeting of Chairs of regional Judges’ Qualification Boards.

Issues concerning selection, appointment, and careers of judges, Momotov said, are to be settled by the Boards independently without any external intervention; nevertheless, the bodies are to take into account a broader context.

The Chair of the Council of Judges noted that a good trend towards cooperation between councils of judges and qualification boards has been apparent in Russia, so a problem is first discussed by a council of judges as a body of judiciary, and if the council deems a disciplinary offence had place, it refers such a case to a qualification board or the Higher Judges’ Qualification Board, so they could take a respective decision. This framework permits to prevent an excessive concentration of powers within a single judicial body or a slide towards group insulation, Momotov said.