Last week the RF Supreme Court published its letter[1] explaining how procedural deadlines in arbitrazh proceedings would be determined during the COVID-19 quarantine established in Russia.
As it is known, the days from March 30, 2020 through April 30, 2020 have been announced non-working in Russia. In this regard, the RF Supreme Court points out that, if a procedural deadline falls on any of such non-working days, the procedural period is to be extended to the nearest working day, inclusively. For illustration, if a monthly period for appealing against a trial court’s decision expires on April 15, 2020, the deadline for filing the appeal would be May 6, 2020, i.e. the nearest working day after lifting of the quarantine[2] and end of the first-coming public holidays in May.
That said, to minimize the risk of missing a procedural deadline, we encourage you to refer in your process documents to the above-mentioned Letter of the RF Supreme Court in the event that the relevant procedural action is performed beyond the period set by the RF Code of Arbitrazh Procedure.
It is also stated in the Letter that legal proceedings scheduled for a date during the period from March 30, 2020 through April 30, 2020 should be adjourned on the first working day (following the previously scheduled date) to a later date, of which parties to the proceedings must be notified.
It should be noted specifically that, as follows from the sense of the Letter, these rules only apply to proceedings in Russian arbitrazh courts.
[1]Letter of the RF Supreme Court of April 1, 2020, No. 7-ВС-1848/20, “On determination of procedural deadlines in the situation of spreading coronavirus infection in the Russian Federation”.
[2]Provided that the quarantine period is not prolonged.
