Principle of publicity in the doctrine and legislation of civil proceedings

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of the content of the principle of publicity of judicial proceedings in civil cases in the Russian procedural legislation and in the works of leading procedural scientists. Covering the period from the middle of the XIX century to the present, the author reveals the prerequisites for the normative consolidation of the principle of publicity, the evolution of the content of this principle in the legislation of the pre-revolutionary, Soviet and modern periods, as well as the assessments and views of domestic scientists regarding the meaning and essence of publicity in civil proceedings. It is concluded that there are two main positions in the doctrine of civil procedure on the issue of the content of publicity: the first position considers publicity exclusively for an indefinite circle of persons not related to the process as a component of their right to collect and receive information about justice. The second position considers publicity in two aspects: both publicity for the public and for the participants in the process. The author considers it expedient to extend the content of publicity to the participants in the process, since they also need the means and guarantees of obtaining complete and reliable information on the case under consideration for timely and effective protection of violated rights. The relevance of the issue is due to the fundamental nature of publicity of judicial proceedings for justice in general and for civil procedure in particular.