The Judiciary of Russia interprets and applies the law of Russia. It is defined under the Constitution and law with a hierarchical structure with the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court at the apex. The district courts are the primary criminal trial courts, and the regional courts are the primary appellate courts. The judiciary is governed by the All-Russian Congress of Judges and its Council of Judges, and its management is aided by the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court, the Higher Qualification Board of Judges, and the Ministry of Justice, and the various courts' presidents. And although there are many officers of the court, including jurors, the Prosecutor General remains the most powerful component of the Russian judicial system.

The judiciary faces many problems and a widespread lack of confidence. There have been serious violations of the accepted separation of powers doctrine, systematic attempts to undermine jury trials, problems with access to justice, problems with court infrastructure, financial support, and corruption.

Russia has a trifurcated court system, with constitutional, ordinary (including military and non-military), and other courts. The Constitutional Court of Russia is considered a separate, independent court. The district courts are the primary criminal trial courts, and the regional courts are the primary appellate courts.

The Constitutional Court of Russia (Конституционный суд Российской Федерации) is responsible for cases concerning conformity with the Constitution, judicial disputes between 2 or more federal bodies, between a federal body and a member of the Federation, and between members of the Federation. As such, it practices "constitutional review" (as differentiated from judicial review) and decides whether federal laws, presidential decrees and directives, and regional constitutions, charters, and laws comply with the federal constitution, as well as treaties between the national government and a regional governments and between regional governments.

It is composed of 11 judges (with the quorum of 8), and sits in plenary sessions. The President of the Court presides over the sessions. Constitutionality of laws, disputes concerning competence of governmental agencies, impeachment of the President of Russia, and Constitutional Court's proposals of legislation must be dealt with by the plenary session. The Constitutional Court may also submit to the plenary session any other issue at its discretion.

In general, the court hears cases referred by the President, the Federation Council, the State Duma, one-fifth of the members of either chamber of the Federal Assembly, the Government, the Supreme Court, or other bodies of legislative or executive authority. It also hears complains by citizens of allegations of constitutional rights violations.

Constitutional courts of republics of Russia and charter courts of other Russia's federal subjects used to hear cases relating to conformity with regional constitutions or charters of laws adopted by regional legislatures and governors' decrees, and in this category of cases constitutional and charter courts were courts of single instance. Courts of this type were disestablished by the 2020 Constitutional amendments.

As for 2020, only twelve republics had their own constitutional courts, while two oblasts (Sverdlovsk and Kaliningrad) and one federal city (Saint Petersburg) had charter courts. Two republics (Buryatia and Tuva) and one oblast (Chelyabinsk) had abolished their constitutional/charter courts before 2020. In the republics of Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, and Sakha, the disestablished constitutional courts were transformed into constitutional councils without any judicial powers.