Valery Zorkin
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Valery Dmitrievich Zorkin (russian: Вале́рий Дми́триевич Зо́рькин) is the first and the current Chairman of the
Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these prin ...
. Zorkin was born on 18 February 1943 in Konstantinovka, Oktyabrsky District in
Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of the ...
(Maritime Province). In 1964, he matriculated from the Law Department of the
Moscow University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
, in which he lectured until the late 1980s. He also lectured at the Ministry of USSR Internal Affairs, and became a professor. He became recognized as a leading specialist on the legal doctrines of
Boris Chicherin Boris Nikolayevich Chicherin (russian: Бори́с Никола́евич Чиче́рин) ( 1828 – 1904) was a Russian jurist and political philosopher, who worked out a theory that Russia needed a strong, authoritative government to perseve ...
. During the last two years of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
's existence, he led a group of legal experts working for the Soviet Constitutional Commission, furthering the case of shaping Russia a
presidential republic A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separation ...
. He left the
CPSU "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...
after the
August coup August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...
. In October 1991, he became a judge of the Constitutional Court of Russia and on 1 November was elected the court's first (and only) chairman with unlimited tenure. During the Russian constitutional crisis of 1992-1993, Zorkin and the Constitutional Court collided with President Yeltsin on a number of issues, incl. his decision to ban the CPSU and (later) the National Salvation Front. On 30 November 1992, the court overruled Yeltsin's decision to disband the ''local branches'' of the Communist Party (the court agreed with Yeltsin that disbanding the ruling bodies of the party was lawful). In September 1993, Zorkin was involved in the bitter dispute as to the legitimacy of
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
's decision to dissolve the
Supreme Soviet of Russia The Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR (russian: Верховный Совет РСФСР, ''Verkhovny Sovet RSFSR''), later Supreme Soviet of the Russia, Russian Federation (russian: Верховны ...
, a decision which ran contrary to the outdated
RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
constitution. Zorkin is often credited with having stood behind the 22 September 1993 court ruling which declared Yeltsin's decision unconstitutional. Though the ruling (passed with 9 judges in favor and 4 judges against), was in agreement with the Constitution, Yeltsin had the work of the court suspended and Zorkin was forced to resign from the position of the chairman on 6 October 1993, retaining the post of a member of the court. Namely, Sergey Filatov, the head of the president's administration, is reported to have called the judges in the morning of 5 October, demanding Zorkin's resignation. However, eight judges out of the twelve present at the session of the court suggested that Zorkin should not resign (4 judges – N.Vitruk, E.Ametistov, T.Morshchakova and V.Oleynik – recommending Zorkin's resignation). In the evening, Filatov contacted Zorkin himself and demanded that he stepped down, otherwise a
criminal case Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...
would be opened, accusing Zorkin of 'creating legal base for the
extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...
activities of Rutskoy and
Khasbulatov Ruslan Imranovich Khasbulatov (russian: link=no, Русла́н Имранович Хасбула́тов, ce, Хасбола́ти Имра́ни кIант Руслан) (born November 22, 1942) is a Russian economist and politician and the ...
'. On 6 October, Zorkin handed in his resignation from the post of chairman, which the Constitutional Court accepted. N.Vitruk was appointed as acting chairman of the Constitutional Court. On December 1, he and his fellow judge Luchin were dismissed from the Constitutional Court by 5 votes to 4 for engaging in politics. In December, he participated in a gathering of communists, nationalists and other opponents of the new constitution proposed by Yeltsin. Zorkin was re-instated as judge on 25 January 1994. Nevertheless, in March, 1994, Zorkin signed the declaration of the ''orgkomitet'' of 'Concord in the Name of Russia' (Согласие во имя России), together with
Gennady Zyuganov Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (russian: Генна́дий Андре́евич Зюга́нов; born 26 June 1944) is a Russian politician, who has been the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and served as ...
,
Alexander Rutskoy Alexander Vladimirovich Rutskoy (russian: Александр Владимирович Руцкой; born 16 September 1947) is a Russian politician and a former Soviet military officer, Major General of Aviation (1991). He served as the only vic ...
,
Alexander Prokhanov Alexander Andreyevich Prokhanov (russian: Алекса́ндр Андре́евич Проха́нов; born 26 February 1938) is a Russian writer, a member of the secretariat of the Writers Union of the Russian Federation and the author of more ...
,
Sergey Glazyev Sergey Yurievich Glazyev (russian: Серге́й Юрьевич Глазьев) (born January 1, 1961, in Zaporozhye, Ukrainian SSR, USSR) is a Russian politician and economist, member of the National Financial Council of the Bank of Russia, ...
,
Stanislav Govorukhin Stanislav Sergeyevich Govorukhin (russian: Станислав Сергеевич Говорухин; 29 March 1936 – 14 June 2018) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russians, Russian film director, actor, screenwriter, producer and politician. He w ...
,
Aman Tuleyev Amangeldy Gumirovich "Aman" Tuleyev (russian: Амангельды (Аман) Гумирович Тулеев, kk, Амангелді Молдағазыұлы Төлеев, ; born 13 May 1944) is a Russian statesman. He served as governor of Ke ...
et al. Despite having written the main report for the conference, he refrained from the foundation of the Concord, as he was warned again by the Court for political activities. Zorkin then stopped his political activities. No longer a chairman, he reportedly happened to disagree with the majority's decision more often than did other judges of the court, such as, in 1995, voicing dissent over the court's ruling that the President's and Prime Minister's decision to move Russian troops into Chechnya was legitimate. Ten years after the court's decision that made him famous, on 24 February 2003, he was reelected the court's chairman. Many observers viewed his return to the office as corroborating the validity of the court's appraisal of Yeltsin's actions in 1993. Controversially, Zorkin praised
serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...
in an article for
Rossiyskaya Gazeta ' (russian: Российская газета, lit. Russian Gazette) is a Russian newspaper published by the Government of Russia. The daily newspaper serves as the official government gazette of the Government of the Russian Federation, publishi ...
in 2014. Zorkin claimed that serfdom had united Russia and compared its abolishment to Yeltsin's reforms in the 1990s.


Honours and awards

*
Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
; **2nd class (19 October 2011) – for outstanding contribution to strengthening the constitutional foundations of Russian statehood and constitutional development **3rd class (18 February 2008) – for his great contribution to the development of constitutional justice in the Russian Federation and many years of fruitful activity *
Honoured Lawyer of Russia Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation (russian: Заслуженный юрист Российской Федерации) is an Honorary title in Russia assigned to highly skilled lawyers for personal services: *in the formation of constitutio ...
(23 March 2000) – for services to strengthen the
rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...
and many years of honest work * Diploma of the President of Russia (12 December 2008) – for active participation in the drafting of the Constitution and a great contribution to the democratic foundations of the Russian Federation *
Order of Friendship (Armenia) The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds a ...
(2016)


References


External links


The Moscow Times: ''Zorkin Says Courts Must Check Kremlin's Power''
*"Authoritarian constitutionalism in Putin's Russia: A pragmatic constitutional court in a dual state" {{DEFAULTSORT:Zorkin, Valery Judges of the Constitutional Court of Russia Russian politicians Russian legal scholars Living people People from Primorsky Krai Full Cavaliers of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" 1943 births