Court Costs

Court Costs 

(1) In civil cases in the USSR, the state fee and the costs incurred in connection with the consideration of a case—namely, the sums subject to payment to witnesses and experts and the expenses incurred in connection with viewing a site, the search of the defendant, and the execution of the decision of the court (for example, art. 86, Code of Civil Procedure of the RSFSR). Witnesses, experts, and interpreters are reimbursed for expenses for travel and accommodations and are paid a per diem allowance. Workers and employees summoned to appear as witnesses retain their average wages for the time they are absent from work. Experts and interpreters, moreover, are paid a remuneration for fulfilling their duties except in instances when such duties have been fulfilled as part of their official duties.

In several categories of civil cases that bear on the significant interests of the working people, the law exempts the parties from payment of the state fee and other court costs regardless of the outcome of the case—for example, it exempts workers and employees who bring suit to recover wages and plaintiffs who bring suit to recover maintenance payments or to gain compensation for an injury inflicted through mutilation.

In its consideration of a specific case, the court has the right to exempt a participant in the trial from payment of court costs, taking account of his property status.

(2) In criminal cases in the USSR, the sums paid to witnesses, victims, and witnesses of investigative actions as compensation for expenses incurred in connection with appearing or as remuneration for being taken away from their usual occupational activities; the sums paid to experts, specialists, and interpreters for fulfillment of their duties and in compensation for expenses incurred in connection with appearing; the sums spent for preserving, transmitting, and investigating real evidence; and any other expenses incurred by investigative organs and the court in the conduct of a given case (for example, art. 105, Code of Criminal Procedure of the RSFSR).

In the event of a judgment of guilt, the court costs are imposed on the convicted person. In the event that a case is terminated or the accused is acquitted, or when the person from whom court costs must be exacted is insolvent, the costs are paid by the state.