On June 28, 2001 the State Duma adopted on the first reading the law "On the Status of Judges in the RF". Deputy Head of the Yabloko faction Igor Artemyev makes the following comments.

"I should remind you that this draft law is the result of the work of the bilateral commission of the Presidential Administration and Yabloko, which was created in December 2000 on the special orders of Vladimir Putin," said Artemyev.

The most important step to be made today as legislators involves the provision of the real independence of the judicial system," stressed Artemyev.

He also noted that this concerns primarily abolition of the procedure for agreeing on the candidates on the posts of judges with the representative authorities of federation subjects, as experience demonstrates that such a procedure for appointing judges is often used as a form of stringent pressure on the judicial bodies by criminals who managed to penetrate the legislative authorities or simply through the manipulative unscrupulousness of parliament members.

Artemyev also stressed that the draft envisages that the vacancies of the posts of judges will be filled on a competitive basis, with a mandatory publication of a notice of such competition in press. Consequently, anyone with a corresponding qualification and satisfying other criteria for the post will be able to compete for the post of a judge.

Artemyev listed among other important elements of the draft the rise in the minimum age and restriction on the maximum age of judges, introduction of an institute of regular retraining, as well as a considerable increase in budget financing for the judicial system.

Artemyev added: “Despite these provisions, however, the law also has
some drawbacks that should be amended during the preparation of the draft law for the second reading. This concerns primarily the introduction of disciplinary and administrative liability of judges, including such issues as internal court regulations, which provides the chairpersons of the judges with extensive opportunities for arbitrary rulings. Second, this concerns the appointment by the President of his representatives to corresponding qualification associations of a collegiate of judges. The membership of a state official in an association may also become a means of exerting pressure on the court. This may be worse than the telephone rule."

Artemyev also stressed that Yabloko was also insisting on amendments to the law "On the Bar". In particular, this refers to an enhancement in the status of barristers and the impossibility of instigating criminal proceedings against barristers without the consent of a corresponding collegiate.