MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. The Russian Federation Council has approved a bill that strips Russian legislation of clauses requiring Moscow to notify the secretary general of the Council of Europe whenever it introduces or cancels martial law or a state of emergency.

Vladimir Poletayev, a first deputy chairman at the Federation Council’s Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, said the development and adoption of the bill followed Russia's withdrawal from the Council of Europe. The bill rids the laws On Martial Law and On the State of Emergency of the clauses that require the notification of the secretary general of the Council of Europe. It leaves intact the provisions that require the notification of the UN secretary general.

The bill approved by the senators would bring these laws in line with the current legislation.

In addition, Paragraph 4 of Article 7 of the law On Martial Law sets out measures that should apply in areas where martial law has been imposed. For example, referendums and elections to government and local self-government organizations in such areas should not be held, except when the Russian Central Election Commission calls them after consultations with the Russian Defense Ministry or the Russian Federal Security Service. The law will enter into force on the day of its formal publication.