The Federation Council approved 70-year-old Irina Podnosova as Chairman of the Supreme Court (SC). 167 senators voted unanimously for her appointment, RBC reports.
At a meeting of the Federation Council, Podnosova said that the aircraft needed to be transported to St. Petersburg. “There is a law dated February 5, 2014 on the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation; Article 22 states that the city of St. Petersburg should be designated as the permanent seat of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The laws must be followed,” Vedomosti quotes her as saying.
The Chairman of the Supreme Court is appointed by the Federation Council for six years on the proposal of the President and after a positive opinion of the High Qualification Board of Judges of Russia. The board recommended Podnosova's candidacy on April 1. Eight days later, Vladimir Putin submitted a proposal to the Federation Council. Podnosova was the only candidate for the post.
The post of Chairman of the Supreme Court was vacated after the death of Vyacheslav Lebedev, who held this post since 1991.
Irina Podnosova studied in the same course with Putin; they graduated from the Faculty of Law of Leningrad State University in 1975. Since the 1990s, Podnosova worked as a judge and headed the Luga City Court of the Leningrad Region. In 2018, she was appointed chairman of the Second Court of Appeal, which hears appeals against decisions of other courts.
Since 2020, Podnosova has held the position of Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court and head of the Economic Collegium of the Supreme Court. She was appointed to this post without experience in the arbitration system. Kommersant, citing sources, wrote that in the judicial system Podnosova is considered an influential person, “since everyone understands who is behind her.”