MOSCOW, February 25 (RAPSI) – The Federation Council has approved an Administrative Proceedings Code to regulate court procedures during the hearing of administrative offenses by general jurisdiction courts and the Supreme Court, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday.

The proposal for such a code was presented by President Vladimir Putin in his address to the Federal Assembly (parliament) in December 2012.

Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court Pyotr Serkov said the number of cases that can be heard under the Administrative Proceedings Code has been growing. The courts have been hearing 11 categories of administrative offense cases, including appeals against regulations and actions of ministries and agencies, infringements on election law, termination of a political party or a media outlet, and others. They now also hear appeals against the cadastral evaluation of real property and cases that are heard by the Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Board.

The code would introduce terms for administrative law, administrative lawsuits and several other terms, as well as determine the parties to such cases: the administrative plaintiff and the administrative defendant, interested persons, the prosecutor, and the agencies, organizations and individuals who can file lawsuits to protect other individuals or the public in general.

Under the code, only those with a higher legal education can represent parties to administrative offenses in court.