Vladimir Putin has approved a Federal law developed by the Russian Supreme Court. The law provides for a compulsory pretrial complaint procedure in arbitrazh courts and relevant changes in the Arbitrazh procedure code. The amendments will enter into force on June 01, 2016.

Pursuant to the said law, arbitrazh courts will not be able to hear the case unless the claimant had presented the claim to the defendant before initiating the action in court. The claimant is entitled to file a suit within 30 days as of the moment he tried to settle the claim extra-judicially. Importantly, however, the new rule will not be applicable to cases dealing with the establishment of legal facts, payment of compensation for delays in judicial proceedings, bankruptcy proceedings, corporate disputes, protection of group rights, premature termination of trademark registration, and challenging of arbitral awards.

It will be recalled that the Supreme Court has recently specified a number of moot points with regard to recovery of judicial costs. Among other things, the court noted that the costs incurred through a pretrial complaint procedure shall be recoverable from the losing party provided that the said procedure is compulsory under statute or contract.