 Source: HRO.org (info) On 6 December the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation ruled (as reported on its website) that it alone can decide how domestic law is to be applied when it conflicts with judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) but has not been previously defined as unconstitutional. The judgments of the ECtHR are the basis for the review of civil cases where new facts have become known. In the process of such proceedings a court might decide that it is impossible to implement a judgment of the ECtHR within the framework of current legislation, BaltInfo reports. “Since the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms essentially recognises the same values as the Constitution of the Russian Federation, any such conclusion makes it necessary to review the constitutional norms at issue in the judgment of the ECtHR. This kind of issue can be resolved solely by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Fedeation,” a statement on the website of the Constitutional Court reports. Any attempt to resolve such issues by the courts independently, the Constitutional Court points out, could lead to differing assessments of the constitutionality of the same norms. Translated by Olga Cable |
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