On Friday 16 September, 6 months after its exclusion from the Council of Europe on 16 March, the Russian Federation ceased to be a High Contracting Party to the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Court continues to have jurisdiction over all pending applications concerning Russia (18,000 or 22.9% of a total of 78,500) as well as over future complaints against Russia concerning events occurring before 16 September.
However, last June, Russian deputies passed a law allowing Moscow to stop enforcing court judgments made after 15 March 2022.
On this occasion, Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the Duma, called the Court “an instrument of political struggle in the hands of Western politicians”.
“It is truly regrettable that, with its departure from the European Convention on Human Rights, Russia will further isolate itself from the democratic world and deprive more than 140 million Russian citizens of the protection offered by the Convention”, said Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, yesterday, assuring Russian human rights defenders, democratic forces, free media and civil society of their continued collaboration with the Organisation.
Also yesterday, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a decision in which it underlined the urgent need to establish a comprehensive system of accountability for serious violations of international law related to the Russian aggression against Ukraine in order to avoid impunity and prevent further violations.
“The legal responsibility of the perpetrators of such violations is of the utmost importance,” stressed the representatives of the foreign ministers of the 46 Council of Europe Member States. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)