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Bill on Russian Constitutional Court rulings’ priority over ECHR may be considered Dec 1

Russian Constitutional Court Vadim Zhernov/TASS

Russian Constitutional Court

© Vadim Zhernov/TASS

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. The draft law on the priority of decisions made by the Russian Constitutional Court over verdicts of international courts, first of all, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), may be considered by the State Duma lower house of parliament in the first reading on December 1, head of the house committee on constitutional legislation Vladimir Pligin told reporters on Wednesday.

"We will propose to set a deadline for the bill delivery until November 25, so that it could be considered [by the relevant committee] on November 26, and will propose to the State Duma to consider the bill in the first reading on December 1," Piligin said.

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Earlier on Wednesday, the bill on priority of the Russian Constitutional Court decisions over verdicts of international courts, including ECHR, if they contradict the Russian Constitution, was submitted to the State Duma. The bill’s authors are representatives of all Duma factions led by chairman of the house constitutional legislation committee Vladimir Pligin, the Duma staff told TASS.

Last year the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that former Yukos shareholders are entitled to €1.866 billion in compensation following their complaint against Russia issued in 2011. The ECHR concluded the 2000 inquiry into Yukos’ taxes by Russia’s government violated the European Convention on Human Rights. Russia hence had to present to the European Council a plan on compensation payments to former Yukos shareholders before June 15, however it was not done.

In December 2014 Russia’s Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov said "the decisions of the ECHR may not be enforced, it is up to the good will of the European Council member-states."

In June 2015, attempts were made to use the Russian property abroad for enforcing the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and meet the claims of Yukos Universal Limited in France and Belgium. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Belgian and French authorities arrested the accounts of Russian embassies in Belgium and France as well as the accounts of Russia’s permanent missions to the European Union, NATO and UNESCO, the United Nations overseer of world heritage. The accounts were unblocked only after interference by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

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