The European Court of Human Rights judgements as a factor in Russian case-law development: relevant issues of implementation, prospects for application

The study deals with the implementation of European Court of Human Rights judgements in the Russian legal system. The author reviews the most significant rulings of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts of the Russian Federation on the need for the law enforcement officer to use and take into account the European Court of Human Rights judgements in the administration of justice. The relevance of the study is determined by a turning point in the interaction of the Russian Federation with the Council of Europe: having deprived the Russian delegation of the right to vote in the Parliamentary Assembly, the international organization predicts Russia’s exclusion from its membership due to the non-payment of mandatory membership fees. The Russian Federation, in turn, refuses to pay the fee since it is deprived of opportunities to exercise its rights to speak out and hold a dialog. The withdrawal (or exclusion) from the Council of Europe would automatically entail removing obligations to implement the provisions of the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, including the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. As a result, all the achievements of Russian case-law and the best practices of higher courts to strengthen human rights guarantees may become irrelevant. The author concludes that it is important to maintain the experience of cooperation with the European Court of Human Rights (implementation results), but the Russian Federation should preserve the full status of a member of the Council of Europe.