20/01/2017 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 20 January, Nils Muiznieks, Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe, called upon the Russian government and Parliament to change the federal law giving the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation powers to block the execution of rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). This call comes following the announcement that the Russian Constitutional Court has authorised the government not to pay shareholders of the Youkos group the €1.9 billion in compensation provided for in the judgement of the ECHR of July 2014. In December 2015, members of the Russian parliament adopted a law giving the authority of the Constitutional Court pre-eminence over that of the ECHR. This situation undermines the guarantees that individuals and businesses can defend themselves against possible State abuse, Muiznieks said. (VL)