ST. PETERSBURG, June 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's president said at an international economic forum in St. Petersburg Saturday the state's main task is to establish an independent judicial system that meets the level of economic development.

"Our task is to establish an independent judicial system that corresponds to the level of economic development," Dmitry Medvedev told foreign businessmen.

In late May Medvedev called for reforms in Russia's judicial system to prevent bribery and corruption, and make the courts truly independent.

"The main goal is to achieve independence of the courts in their work. There is a well-known principle that judges should be subordinate only to the law and this is essentially the basis for respecting a court, a belief in fair court proceedings," Medvedev then told a conference on the development of the judicial system.

The president, a former lawyer, has made the fight against corruption one of his main goals since taking office last month, and is set to head a new anti-corruption council. He has also given instructions to draw up a national action plan to counter corruption.

To make progress in making the judicial system independent, "we need to consider a whole range of issues aimed at eradicating unjust rulings that we know exist, and that often emerge as a result of various kinds of pressure, phone calls and, it cannot be denied, for money," he said on May 20.

Medvedev said legislation on the judicial system must be amended, and bureaucracy must be reduced.

He also said a working group to improve the court system will be established.