Point of law: whether the judicial decisions that were already rendered may be reversed on the ground of a judgment of the Presidium of the Supreme Commercial Court which provides that “this interpretation of legal rules is universally binding and subject to application at consideration of analogous cases by commercial courts”, but at the same time says nothing as to the retroactive force of such interpretation?
Ratio decidendi: the Presidium held that the aforementioned formula which was used in the judgments of Presidium within the respective period (from February 2010 till June 2011) does permit the possibility of reversal (with due regard to applicable time limits) of court decisions that have already entered into legal force - just as does the formula currently employed by the Presidium, which explicitly provides for such possibility. Therefore, the refusal to reverse a wrongful court decision on the sole ground that the formula, previously used by the Presidium, did not contain an explicit provision on retroactive force of its judgment, would be unjustified; such decision of the Presidium may just as well be regarded as a new circumstance in the meaning of para 5 of part 3 of Article 311 of Commercial Procedure Code.
Practical consequences: the Judgment says that prior court decisions in analogous cases if inconsistent with this interpretation may be reversed in the procedure and within the limits envisaged by Art 311 of the Commercial Procedure Code.
A subsequent attempt of company “Eksima” to challenge these conclusions of the Presidium before the Constitutional Court has failed (ruling of the Constitutional Court of 22 January 2014 N 1-О-Р).
