The Role of the Dissenting and Concurring Opinions in the Constitutional Justice of Russia

Recently, in Russia, the publication of dissenting and concurring opinions in constitutional justice has been widely discussed by both lawyers and public. The paper emphasizes that the separate opinion of a judge of the Constitutional Court is a democratic institution and helps to increase the openness and transparency of constitutional review in post-communist countries in particular.
The publication of dissenting and concurring opinions of judges of the Constitutional Court strengthens trust in constitutional values. On the one hand, a judge exercises the right to freedom of speech and information, draws attention to legal issues. Subsequently, the position of a judge may become a ratio decidendi for a future decision of the Constitutional Court of Russia, as was already the case. On the other hand, as an act of a judge’s creativity, a separate opinion should take into account the consequences of its publication, and cannot undermine the credibility of the judiciary.