MOSCOW, April 5 - RAPSI, Sergei Feklyunin. Russian companies do not file lawsuits abroad due to the alleged inadequacy of the Russian judicial system, but due to the location of their assets, Chairman of the Supreme Commercial Court Anton Ivanov said on Thursday.

As long as Russian assets are held abroad, no measures to improve legislation will help, he said. "The logic is simple: if we want suits to be filed in Russia, we must ensure that these assets return home," Ivanov said.

He added that "unfriendly tax policies" are the main reason behind the flight of assets, which leads to huge losses in the event of alienation of property. "Make the tax legislation friendly, and no one will risk transferring their assets to offshore havens," the judge said.

On the other hand, it is not a problem "when lawsuits are filed abroad," Ivanov said. The number of cases involving Russian companies heard in foreign courts is negligible compared to the number of cases heard in Russia. But the lawsuits filed with foreign courts attract attention and are usually connected with high-profile business stories, he said.

He again expressed his criticism of situations "when foreign courts assume the jurisdiction of Russian courts." He concluded, however, that in general, "if both sides wish for it, they have the right to have their case heard abroad."