The Importance of the Institution of Time Limits in Russian Civil Proceedings: Evolution of Legal Approaches

Abstract

The paper examines theoretical views concerning the role and functions of procedural terms in different periods of the development of domestic civil procedural law. The author elucidates pre-revolutionary, Soviet and modern Russian legislation and doctrine in the field of procedural time limits. By analyzing the academic approach to the problem of the balance between the duration of the trial and the principle of the truthfulness of the court decision, the author demonstrates a change in approaches to understanding the socio-legal role of the institution of time limits (procedural deadlines). The author comes to the conclusion that, under the pre-revolutionary doctrine, procedural time limits were treated as a fundamental institution, through which not only the acceleration of the process is ensured, but also legal certainty in substantive and procedural relations. The Soviet doctrine reduced the role of procedural time limits to a means of enforcing the time-frame of proceedings, their ordering and ensuring procedural discipline. The modern doctrine witnesses a revival and deepening of the classical approach to understanding the importance of this institution as a factor in ensuring legal certainty, stability of civil turnover and implementation of the rule of law principle. A correct definition of the significance of procedural time limits is critically necessary due to the fact that the legislator, when setting deadlines for a certain duration of the proceedings, should be guided by their purpose in the mechanism of legal regulation.