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Constitutional court chairman says ECHR decisions binding for Russia

MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/. Decisions by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) are binding for Russia, and non-compliance with them is possible only in exceptional situations, Chairman of the Russian Constitutional Court, Valery Zorkin, told an all-Russia congress of judges on Tuesday.

The duty of the Constitutional Court is "to execute decisions and not to dodge them," he emphasized.

As an example, he mentioned the Constitutional Court’s considering in November rules banning longer visits with their next-of-kin for inmates serving life sentences in the first ten years of their imprisonment.

"The issue was brought up by the Vologda regional court. In 2005, the Constitutional Court saw no constitutional problem in that regulatory practice, but over the past few years, the European court has clearly defined its position, saying that these people should be entitled to longer visiting hours under a general rule," he stated.

"And this time, we agreed to rule these provisions unconstitutional, taking into account judicial practice, including the practice of the ECHR," Zorkin added.