Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States

In accordance with the Provision on the Economic Court, states concerned represented by its competent organs, and also CIS institutions have the right to go to the Court for consideration of disputes.

The highest agencies of power and government of participating states, CIS institutions, superior economic and arbitration courts and other superior organs that are empowered to settle economic disputes, which can appear on the territory of participating states, can appeal to the Economic Court with requests for interpretation of the CIS international agreements and other acts.

The Economic Court is not empowered to consider disputes or requests for interpretation, introduced by economic agents or natural persons. At the same time in the Court's practice were considered such kind of requests, which were taken to the Court indirectly, through the competent organs of states and CIS institutions.

According to the Provision on the Economic Court subsequent to the results of consideration of disputes the Economic Court makes decision, where the fact of law infringement, by participating state, of international agreement or CIS act or act of the CIS, its institution, is ascertained. Then some measures, which are recommended for such state in order to eliminate the infringement and its consequences, are defined. When the Economic Court of the CIS makes a decision, the state, concerning the decision being made, provides its execution. Thus, the legal force is not determined straight by constituent documents of the Court. In the literature, there is an opinion that the Court's decisions have binding character with regard to legal qualification of aspects of the case and the character of recommendation with regard to the measures on elimination the infringement and its consequences undertaken by the state.

The decisions of the Economic Court and the enactments of the Plenum are to be published in the CIS publications and mass media of the participating states.

From 2004 to 2011 the Economic Court was performing functions of the Court of the Eurasian Economic Community in accordance with the Agreement between the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Eurasian Economic Community on fulfillment by the Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States the functions of the EurAsEC Court dated 3 March 2004 (with changes, submitted by the Protocol dated 17 January 2011). This agreement was denounced on 1 January 2012. Within the framework of fulfillment of the functions of the EurAsEC Court the jurisdiction of the Economic Court was extended on interstate disputes of economic character, which can appear on application of international EurAsEC agreements, decisions of EurAsEC organs, fulfillment of commitments, following from such acts, other disputes, provided by the EurAsEC agreements, and also on interpretation of the provisions of international agreements and decisions of EurAsEC organs.

The Economic Court discharges its duties as a full panel of Economic Court, but it also may form the Economic Court collegiums and convoke the Plenum of the Economic Court.

Full panel of the Economic Court is composed of all judges from the Court and is convoked for consideration the cases on requests for interpretation. Full panel of the Court is eligible to make decision, if on its session are present not less than two thirds of all elected and proceeded to execute its duties judges of the Economic Court. When making a decision, each judge has one vote and has no right to abstain from voting. Decisions are made by simple majority vote from the number of judges who are present. When there is equality of votes, the decision the chairman of full staff had voted for is supposed to be made. The Decisions are made by the full staff of the Court are final and there will be no appeals.

The Economic Court collegiums are formed by full staff of the Court in number of 3 or 5 persons among the judges for consideration the disputes related to the competence of appropriate collegiums. The decision of collegium is made by majority vote of collegium's members. When there is equality of votes, the decision the chairman of collegiums had voted for is supposed to be made. The Decision of collegiums can be appealed to the Plenum of the Economic Court by case parties or third persons.

Plenum of the Economic Court is supposed to be the higher collegiate organ of the Court and composed of the chairman of the Court, his deputies and judges of the Court, and also of chairmen of higher economic, arbitration courts and other higher state organs of participating states, settling economic disputes.

Economic disputes between the CIS participating states compose moderate part of the cases that are considered by the Economic Court: for the first 20 years of the Court's functioning were considered 13 disputes. In some cases the Court made a decision on denial of case production or dismissal of a case.

The decisions on the cases about disputes may be classified according to the following categories: about improper fulfillment of economic commitments; about recognition of proprietorship, on collision between national legal norms and provisions of the CIS law.

Cases about interpretation compose main part of the cases that are considered by the Economic Court. By 17 June 2016 the Court had considered 111 cases on interpretation.[4]

Among all cases considered by the Economic court it is possible to single out the following categories:

• on interpretation of agreements and other acts of the Commonwealth regulating issues on fulfillment of international economic commitments – 17 cases;
• on interpretation of constituent documents and legal position of the CIS – 5 cases;
• on interpretation of agreements and other acts of the CIS, regulating status and powers of organizations within the framework of the CIS, the CIS organs – 11 cases;
• on interpretation of correspondence of provisions of agreements, signed within the framework of the CIS, acts of the CIS organs to the standards and principles of international law – 9 cases;
• on interpretation of agreements, regulating the way of settling interstate disputes within the framework of the CIS – 8 cases;
• on interpretation of agreements, regulating cooperation of higher arbitration, economic and other courts of the participating states of the CIS concerning its procedural activity – 8 cases;
• on interpretation of agreements and other acts of the CIS organs, regulating issues of providing for social and economic rights of citizens of the CIS participating states – 45 cases;
• cases that are considered by the Economic Court within the framework of fulfillment the functions of the EurAsEC Court – 1 case;
• other cases – 7 cases.[4]

The Decision by the CIS Economic Court dated September 23, 2014 No. 01−1/1−14 on interpretation of the article 11 of the CIS Convention on protection of investors rights dated March 23, 1997[5] was nominated by Global Arbitration Review as one of the most important published decision of 2014 for jurisprudential or other reasons. It was commented as "preventing a potential flood of claims at so-called “pocket” arbitration courts".[6][7]

Conclusions and directions appearing in decisions of the Economic Court related to the cases about interpretation of provisions of international agreements, signed within the framework of the CIS, are used by competent organs of the participating states in practical activity, in preparation of the acts of the national legal system and development of international legal basis, are taken into consideration by experts when developing and coordinating agreements and decisions taken within the framework of the CIS.

Decisions of the Economic Court on cases about interpretation are used in practice of national judicial organs of Belarus and Russian Federation.