Bills to terminate the execution of ECHR judgments were adopted in the second and third readings

The State Duma called for the termination of the execution of the decisions of the Strasbourg Court against Russia, issued after March 15, 2022.

June 7, 2022 the State Duma approved in the second and third readings two bills on amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) and other laws. The bills provide for the termination of Russia's execution of resolutions European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) adopted after March 15, 2022.

These bills have been submitted to State Duma on May 16, State Duma deputies Pavel Krasheninnikov and Daniil Bessarabov, and also senators Andrei Klishas and Vladimir Poletaev; On May 18 they were accepted into first reading.

Initially it was proposed to stop implementing the orders issued after March 16, 2022 year, that is, from the day of exclusion Russian Federation from the Council of Europe , but by the second reading date changed to March 15, when Russia announced its withdrawal from the Council of Europe.

First The draft law excludes from the list of new circumstances under which the renewal of criminal proceedings established by the ECtHR violation of the provisions European Convention on Human Rights. It states separately that judgments of the ECtHR issued after March 15 are not enforceable in Russia, and in order to enforce judgments issued prior to that date, Russian courts may use the Code of Criminal Procedure in the old version.

In addition, it is specified that new circumstance on which the criminal proceedings are resumed case, can serve not only the recognition by the Constitutional Court of Russia any law to be unconstitutional, but to declare unconstitutional any normative act or its separate provision, as well as their interpretation Constitutional Court, at odds with those used in the verdict, ruling or a decision of a Russian court.

According to the second draft law, references to the ECtHR are excluded from the laws "On Prosecutor's Office", "On the Detention of Suspects and Accused of committing crimes", "On compensation for violation of the right to legal proceedings within a reasonable time or the right to enforce a judicial act within reasonable time", as well as from the Criminal Executive Code (PEC), the Code Administrative Procedure (CAS), Arbitration Procedural Code (APC), Civil Procedure Code (CPC). It is noted that for execution of ECtHR judgments adopted before March 16, the courts can use old editions of CAS, APC and GPC.

The bill also provides that the rule on the payment of compensation by the Prosecutor General's Office under the decisions of the ECtHR will canceled only from January 1, 2023; up to this point, the payment of compensation for regulations that entered into force before March 15 will be carried out, but only in rubles and to accounts in Russian banks.

In addition, in the law "On detention..." reference to letters from detainees addressed to the ECtHR it is proposed to replace with letters to other "interstate bodies for protection of human rights and freedoms".

Recall that the ECtHR itself ruled on March 23 , that the Russian Federation will cease to be a High Contracting Party European Convention on Human Rights only from September 16, 2022, and the court will continue to consider all complaints against Russia relating to events occurred before this date. Moreover, it was assumed that Russia would be obliged comply with the judgments of the ECtHR adopted in relation to her, issued even after 16 September.

Sources

• The State Duma adopted a bill on non-execution of ECtHR judgments in the Russian Federation // News. 2022. June 7th.
• Draft Law No. 124013-8 "On Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation" // CREATION GAS "Lawmaking". 2022. June 7th.
• Draft Law No. 124020-8 "On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation and Recognizing Certain Provisions of Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation as Invalid" // CREATION GAS "Lawmaking". 2022. June 7th.