Press Release
Theodore Eisenberg Reports on his Experience with the Rule of Law Fellowship
June 9, 2011
Theodore Eisenberg
This is to summarize my time as a Klebnikov Fellow in Russia. First, I would like to thank the Fund for giving me this marvelous opportunity. I hope I can justify the confidence shown in me by producing important scholarship about the Russian Constitutional Court. This visit allowed me to begin work on that project.
The highlight of this visit was the wonderful work done by Moscow State University (MGU) students on the Russian Constitutional Court. Professor Gaya Davidayan of MGU organized the students and worked with them. Together, they produced information on over 600 Russian Constitutional Court cases across diverse fields of law, including property, inheritance, criminal procedure, and election law. They studied the Court's decision to grant review of cases and the outcomes of the cases the court reviewed. The students made a 2.5 hour presentation to me in which they reported their empirical results. I believe this work substantially contributed to their understanding of the rule of law in Russia. They had some expectations about what the pattern of outcomes would be and were, I think, often surprised to observe what the actual pattern was.
Moscow State University students
present their findings to professor
Eisenberg.
Their presentation also contributed substantially to my understanding of the rule of law in Russia. I think there was pride in this Court's operation and its ability to deliver justice to individual citizens. I very much hope to be able to pursue this preliminary work and develop a publishable empirical article on the pattern of decisions by the Court. As in most countries, Russia has little empirical scholarship documenting the patterns of outcomes of court cases. By reporting on how litigants fare in the Constitutional Court, we would be contributing to knowledge about the rule of law. Information about the Constitutional Court would also contribute to understanding the rule of law in other countries, including the U.S. One could observe what subject areas generate cases before the Court, as well as the outcomes of those cases. This type of work can promote interest in and knowledge of the operation of courts within a country, as legal professionals tend not to have information about the mass of cases in legal systems.
I believe I also better understand now the concerns of many Russians relating to the rule of law. People are concerned about the uncertainty of the future, increases in crime rates, and perceived corruption in the prosecution of cases.
Other highlights of my fellowship were visits to the Russian Supreme Court, where we met with the Vice Chairman of the Court and were given very useful information about the role of the Court, and to the Duma, part of the Russian legislature. We met there with officials who were very helpful in explaining the role of the Duma and the relation between the Duma and the courts. I also had extensive consultations with MGU professors and met with U.S. and Russian attorneys working out of the U.S. Embassy. Much of the focus of our discussions was the empirical work done by the students described above. They all took an active interest in it.
I hope the lectures I delivered on the rule of law and perceptions on the rule of law in the U.S. were of interest to the audiences. I spoke on "The Reality of Civil Litigation in the United States?" The talks tried to show how misperceptions of the U.S. civil justice system are fostered by interest groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. I argued that reliable, systematic information about the legal system is necessary to combat the myths business lobby groups promote. Such information would promote the rule of law in all countries. I can supply you with the powerpoint versions of the talk if that is of interest.
I greatly benefitted from the marvelous hospitality by Professor Davidyan and her colleagues. We discussed student exchange programs, teaching opportunities in the MGU program in Geneva, and the collaborative research on the Russian Constitutional Court described above.
Theodore Eisenberg
Allen Mark Professor of Law
Adjunct Professor of Statistical Sciences Cornell University
June 9, 2011
