Early termination of the powers of judges in the context of constitutional reforms

The paper examines the problems of early termination of the powers of judges by the Federation Council of the Russian Federation on the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation, in particular, the lack of sufficient detail of legal norms. The role of the judicial community in guaranteeing the independence of judges in the early termination procedure is considered. Purpose: to analyze changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation in the context of the constitutional reform of 2020, concerning the early termination of the powers of judges, to identify problems encountered and to develop proposals for improving legislation. Methods: the author uses dialectical, formal-legal, comparative-legal and system analysis methods. Results: the analysis shows that new types of grounds have been established for the early termination of the powers of the chairmen, their deputies and judges of the Higher Courts, Cassation and Appeal Courts, as well as the Intellectual Property Rights Court, in view of the fact that they have committed an act defaming the honor and dignity of the judge, and in other cases where it is not possible for the judge to exercise his powers. The wording of these grounds established by the legislation reveals an imperfection, since it allows depriving judges of their powers for a wide range of acts and actions (inactions) that do not have a comprehensive list or criteria for their evaluation provided for by the legislation. It is recognized as a positive aspect that the termination of the powers of these judges is a matter for the Federation Council of the Russian Federation. At the same time, it is concluded that it is necessary to amend the legislation, detailing the grounds and procedure for the early termination of the powers of judges, as well as providing for the participation of the judicial community as a guarantee of the independence of the judiciary. The author proposes to supplement the grounds for the termination of the powers of all other judges due to their misconduct and failure to comply with the requirements, restrictions and prohibitions established by the anti-corruption legislation.