Dmitry Medvedev attended a plenary session titled Future of the Legal Profession.
Dmitry Medvedev speaks at the 8th St Petersburg International Legal Forum
16 May 2018
Assistant Professor in Commercial Law at the University of Nottingham Orsolya Toth receives the St Petersburg International Legal Forum Private Law Prize 2018
16 May 2018
Dmitry Medvedev speaks at the 8th St Petersburg International Legal Forum
16 May 2018
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Dmitry Medvedev speaks at the 8th St Petersburg International Legal Forum
The St Petersburg International Legal Forum was launched in 2011 and is a major platform for dialogue between politicians, lawyers, economists and researchers representing all the main economic and legal systems.
The forum seeks to promote ways to modernise the law in the changing global environment, including ways to optimise cooperation between legal systems and work out common approaches to developing law in today’s world, to modernise Russian law by using the best international practices for drafting and administering laws, and to assist in the development of modern legal sciences and legal education in Russia and throughout the world.
The forum’s agenda this year focuses on the latest developments in the legal world, changes in international and Russian law, as well as international cooperation. The theme of the plenary session is Future of the Legal Profession.
The award ceremony of the of the St Petersburg International Legal Forum Private Law Prize 2018 was held for the first time on the sidelines of the event. This law prize, which has no analogues either in Russia or in the world, was established in 2017.
The award recognises the laureate’s high academic profile. The world’s top-ranking universities were given the right to propose candidates for the prize. Based on publicly available academic rankings, a list of leading law schools and R&D centres was drawn up and 82 deans of legal departments on five continents received invitations to nominate academic works. Among the criteria for awarding the prize was the international significance of the nominated work. The award’s expert council included world-class legal scholars who are trend setters in today’s legal research and whose works inspired several generations of legal experts.
Excerpts from Dmitry Medvedev’s remarks at the forum’s plenary session:
The forum expands its audience every year, attracting more and more legal experts from across the world. Our forum is unique in that it brings together representatives from various sectors of the legal profession. This year, more than 4,000 people from 90 countries are attending the forum. Many are those watching live broadcasts online.
What are the main tasks that the legal professionals will have to face, whether they want to or not? Protecting individual rights is essential. This is an absolute priority for any legal system.
This vision is set out in the Russian Constitution, which marks its 25thanniversary in 2018. This celebration coincides with another anniversary: 20 years ago, Russia ratified the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. These two instruments have become part of our legal system, our legislative and judicial practice, ultimately changing the lives of so many people.
Tomorrow a conference will open in Denmark where a declaration on the long-term vision for the European Convention is expected to be adopted. Together with 46 countries of the Council of Europe, Russia took an active part in drafting this instrument. We support it, as we support the subsidiary nature of the ECHR with respect to the legal systems of member states. We share the view that the European Court of Human Rights must take into consideration the general provisions of international public law.
The very purpose of law enforcement agencies and the state in general is to protect human rights to enhance legal protections in Russia. To this effect, the Ministry of Justice drafted a concept for regulating professional legal assistance. It includes, among other things, a proposal to compel all legal experts to abide by professional standards and assume responsibility for their actions.