Scholarly Research

The attorneys and lawyers of Muranov, Chernyakov & Partners take a constant interest in legal scholar developments. We contribute to a number of legal studies and research projects on a regular basis.

There are three Candidates of legal sciences among us (Ph.D. thesis on ‘Fraus Legi’ Issue in Substantive Law and in Conflict of Laws, Ph.D. thesis on Amicable Settlement Agreement as a Means of Out-of-Court Private Law Dispute Resolution (under the Russian Law and the Law of Selected Foreign Countries), Ph.D. thesis on Legal Methods of Attraction and Protection of Direct Foreign Investments under the Legislation and International Treaties of the Russian Federation).

We cooperate with leading Russian legal scholars in the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University) of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Private Law Research Centre at the President of the Russian Federation, the Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Legal Studies at the Russian Federation Government, Lomonosov Moscow State University, the Russian Academy of Foreign Trade, as well as in the higher judicial authorities.

Such cooperation and research are instrumental in many ways, because they enable us to provide legal services of the quality level we feel our clients are in their right to demand:

I) A lack of profound knowledge and understanding of legal theory and jurisprudence would render it impossible to provide services in complicated legal disputes or projects, or to work out sophisticated legal schemes for the benefit of clients. Solid theoretical background combined with the comprehension of technical intricacies enable us to tackle legal challenges with confidence and creativity.

II) Russian law is only now slowly starting to reflect economic reality in an adequate way. However, gaps, lack of clarity and stability still form an inherent part of the current Russian legal system. Legal studies represent one of the ways to overcome these shortcomings. Legal science is closely related to the law-making process as well as to law enforcement. We keep up with the latest trends in legal regulation and judicial practice and are thus able to monitor and better understand the intentions of the legislator and the judicial bodies in a better way. Hence, we can often come up with an interpretation of the law that would favor our client most.

III) Academic approaches to legal issues, drafting of research-based legal opinions in particular, often help to succeed in court proceedings. Scholar data and research underlying our arguments always render them more profound, comprehensive and thus more efficient. The more solid the arguments, the better the chances to win the case. To that end, if necessary, we always take advantage of academic knowledge. In a number of instances, the court ruled in favor of our clients because we successfully applied theoretical knowledge to persuade the court.

IV) Unlike lower levels of the State court system, which traditionally pay little attention to doctrine, private arbitration tribunals and international commercial arbitrations often take a different attitude (depending of course on the arbitrators in question). As a result, apt references to doctrine and authoritative opinions may help to win complex disputes submitted to arbitration.

V) Immediate cooperation with noted lawyers not only contributes to our professional development, but also broadens our understanding of practical legal matters. It should not be disregarded that many legal scholars serve in Russia’s higher judicial authorities and are involved in the law-making process.

Last but not least, scholarly work has enabled the attorneys and lawyers of Muranov, Chernyakov & Partners to take part in the actual law-making process in Russia. We have, among other things, taken part in the drafting of the “Private International Law” Section of Part Three of the Russian Civil Code; the drafting of laws amending the Russian Arbitrazh Procedure Code, the Russian Code of Civil Procedure; the Federal Law On Natural Monopolies; the drafting of the Law On Currency Regulation and Currency Control, elaborating the draft Law On Dispute Settlement Procedure with a Mediator in the Russian Federation (On Mediation) together with the drafting of a number of acts on subsoil use, import quotas and other issues at the federal and sub-federal regulatory level.