Court Judgment

under Soviet law, the decree of a court of first instance that concludes the hearing and resolution of a civil case. A court judgment is rendered by a majority vote of the participating judges, who deliberate in secrecy. It is given in writing and signed by all the judges who have participated in rendering it. The judgment must be legal (conform to the law) and well-founded, that is, it must correspond to the actual circumstances of the case as determined in a court session conducted in compliance with the rules of civil procedural law.

A court judgment is rendered immediately after the completion of the hearings. It consists of introductory and descriptive parts, the reasoning of the court, and the court’s decision. The judgment acquires legal force upon the expiration of the time established for appealing it. The judgments of supreme courts of the Union republics take effect immediately after they are announced.