The State and Business at Arbitrazh Courts

Abstract

The authors investigate the question of the differential chances of success of state bodies and entrepreneurs in Russian arbitrazh courts (taking into account whether they appear as plaintiffs or respondents). Using regression analysis they establish that—other things being equal—the court usually comes down on the side of the entrepreneur in civil proceedings and on the side of the state in administrative proceedings. In both instances there is a bias in favor of the plaintiff. However, the more complicated the case the smaller the bias in favor of the plaintiff. The study relies on data obtained by means of a simple random sample of cases heard by arbitrazh courts of primary jurisdiction in 2007–2011.