MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. Russia’s Duma has endorsed in the first reading a bill on compensations to the Russian citizens and companies who have suffered damage because of illegitimate rulings of foreign courts.
Appropriate amendments have been made in the Law on Compensations for Violation of Rights to Fair Justice within Reasonable Terms or the Right to Court Decisions within Reasonable Terms.
The bill was initiated by Vladimir Ponevezhsky of the United Russia party who said the document offered protection to the properties of citizens unfairly sentenced to jail terms abroad and especially the ones whose cases contained violations of the principles of amenability. “The compensations will be paid out from the federal budget,” Ponevezhsky said.
The bill describes the passing of verdicts by foreign courts on the cases, which should be considered by Russian courts, as an intrusion in the competence of the judicial system and encroachment on Russia’s sovereignty.
“Such judiciary acts shall be deemed legally null and void,” Ponovezhsky said. “The bill also envisions possible compensations for violation of the right to consider a case by a relevant court in Russia.”
For the compensation to be awarded, an individual who has been harmed by a non-amenable court ruling will be expected to turn to a Russian court of general jurisdiction or the Arbitration Court with an appropriate petition.