9 July Valeriy Zorkin (right), the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation made an official statement. He offered to “correct” the rules for Russian citizens to go to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. In human rights activists’ opinion, it may essentially disable Russians to lodge their complaints to the foresaid institution. (16-JULY-07)

Written by HRH Moscow/ Inna Komar
Sources: http://www.interfax.ru, http://www.NEWSru.com. http://www.hro.org, http://www.demos-center.ru 

According to nowadays functioning procedure, the citizens of the Russian Federation have a right to go to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) during six months after Court of Cassation decree, leaving aside supreme state instances. Not everybody suppose that it is obligatory to go there for fear of missing the target date or because of aspiration for red tape avoiding.


LUPA“It’s necessary to bring into the Russian legislation a standard according to which it’s possible to go to the ECHR only after national means of legal defence depletion,” – Valeriy Zorkin reported to Interfax. “Going to the European law right after the cassation instance, leaving aside the Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitrage, leads to the fact that the enormous quantity of complaints is directed to the ECHR. At the same time, the pyramid’s top of judicial power in our country is being cut off,” – emphasized the Chairman.  According to him, to change the situation it’s required, on the one hand, to transform the system of legal investigation in Russian Supreme Courts and, on the other hand, to change the European Court’s stand, taken on the issue.


Valeriy Zorkin supposes that such measures will also let solve the problem of the ECHR`s workload. He reminded that 20% of complaints lodged to the European Court in Strasbourg are from the Russian Federation. The head of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is convinced that if the procedure of Russian citizens going to the ECHR isn’t changed, the range of complaints from the Russian Federation will be increasing. 


In human rights activists’ opinion, the changes offered by Mr. Chairman are an attempt to mislead Russian people. The changes restrict applicants` rights and they are caused by the aspiration to reduce the flow of complaints received by the European Court in Strasbourg from the Russian Federation. Human rights defenders consider that the most important thing in the salvation of this problem is to ratify Protocol No. 14 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which reform the procedure of legal investigation in the ECHR. But the Russian Federation hasn’t done it yet. Only such measures are able to reduce complaints from Russians and to speed up and simplify the consideration of already lodged complaints.