Federal Bailiffs Service (Russia)
The Federal Bailiffs Service or Federal Service of Court Bailiffs is a federal law enforcement agency of Ministry of Justice of Russia.
The FSSP is the enforcement arm of the Judiciary of Russia, serving as the primary agency for protection of officers of the court, effective operation of the judiciary, fugitive operations, and providing security services and maintaining order within court facilities across Russia. The FSSP's head office is located at 16 Kuznetsky Most, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow.
The FSSP was created during the presidency of Boris Yeltsin as the Department of Bailiffs in November 1997, and was elevated to a federal agency by Vladimir Putin in 2004. Sergey Sazanov has been the Acting Director of the FSSP and Chief Bailiff of the Russian Federation since February 2017.
Functions and Powers
- Prisoner transport and processing
- Judicial security
- Bailiff services
- Courthouse security
- 24-hour prisoner lockup jails and cell blocks
- Protection of court buildings
- Guard services to judges and other officers of the court
Federal Bailiffs may search people as they enter the court and remove them if they refuse to be searched, they can also remove people in order to enable court business to be carried on without interference or delay, maintain order and secure the safety of any person in the court building. Officers may ask a person to surrender property if they believe it may jeopardise the maintenance of order in the court, put the safety of any person in the court building at risk, or may be evidence of, or in relation to, an offence. Federal Bailiffs are required to be biennially certified in the use of pepper spray, handcuffs, and defensive batons.
History
The Bailiffs’ Service formed in 1997, when federal laws No. 118 from 21 July 1997 "On Bailiffs" and Federal law 119 "On Enforcement Proceedings" were adopted. These laws fundamentally changed the system of enforcement proceedings in Russia and were legal basis for organizing an independent institution of bailiffs, and was known as The Department of Bailiffs of the Justice Ministry, and was acting under the order of the Russian Ministry of Justice from 22 September 2000 "On Approval of the Department of Bailiffs".The Department became a Federal Service after it was formed by the Decree of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, from 9 March 2004, Decree Number 314 "On the system and structure of the federal executive authorities".
Directors
The FSSP is headed by a Director, a position which is accompanied with the title of Chief Bailiff of the Russian Federation.The current Director is Sergey Sazanov who has held the position since 15 February 2017. Sazanov was appointed as Acting Director following the appointment of Director Artur Parfenchikov as Head of the Republic of Karelia.
| # | Name | Term | Notes |
| 1 | Boris Kondrashov | – September 1999 | First Director of the Bailiffs Department; Deputy for the Justice Minister |
| 2 | Arkady Melnikov | November 1999 – 21 October 2004 | Director of the Bailiffs Department; Deputy for the Justice Minister |
| 3 | Nikolai Vinichenko | – 29 December 2008 | First Director of Federal Bailiffs Service and Chief Bailiff of the Russian Federation |
| 4 | Artur Parfenchikov | – 15 February 2017 | Director of the Federal Bailiffs Service and Chief Bailiff of the Russian Federation |
| 5 | Sergey Sazanov | – present | Acting Director of the Federal Bailiffs Service and Chief Bailiff of the Russian Federation |