Medvedev orders court cleanup

Medvedev also recommended a cut in the red tape that hampers the Russian judicial system, and deplored the poor qualifications of many judges – a result, he said, of the increase in the number of universities and other institutions that give law degrees and training. He said judicial problems would be addressed with laws regulating judges’ work and amending the Administrative Offenses Code. Interax reported that Medvedev will name a working group to prepare the changes in a matter of days.

On Monday, Medvedev ordered a senior aide to set up an anti-corruption council to modernize laws, create disincentives for corruption and educate Russians of its effects. The 10,500 criminal corruption cases registered last year, he said, were “just the tip of the iceberg.”

Corruption and bribery are rampant in Russia. The country recently received a dismal rating of 143^rd of 180 countries from Transparency International – on par with Gambia and Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that Kremlin critics say the government itself has been one of the main forces manipulating the courts under former Russian president Vladimir Putin. The article cited the case of last week’s testimony by a senior judge on Russia’s top civil court, who said that a top Kremlin official had threatened her job if she didn’t rule as instructed, and noted that internationally, the court case that bankrupted Yukos was widely viewed as politically motivated.