Issues of the Implementation of the Principle of Independence of Judges in Review of Public Law Cases

The article raises the problem of the independence of judges who consider and resolve public law cases. Since a public law conflict is a dispute between a private person (citizen or organization) and the state represented by its bodies or officials regarding the exercise of power, the judge is actually a representative of one of the parties to the legal conflict (the state). In such conditions, it is difficult for him to maintain impartiality and independence. It is shown that it is necessary to distinguish between the categories of “court independence” and “judicial independence”. The constitutional principle of the separation of powers ensures the independence of the court as a state body, but not of a judge. It is proposed, first, to consider the independence of a judge in three aspects: from other authorities and officials; from the persons participating in the case and from other judges, including higher courts. In order to increase the independence of judges considering public law cases, it is also proposed to introduce the institution of administrative assessors into the Russian model of administration of justice (by analogy with arbitration and jury assessors). At the same time, it is advisable to revive the institution of civil liability of judges for the erroneousness of their decisions.