Fixed message: Russia will not comply with the decisions of foreign courts

The rulings of international criminal courts, whose competence is not based on treaties with Russia or the UN Security Council resolution, will not be enforced in the Russian Federation. Such a bill was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. Previously, the refusal to recognize and enforce such decisions remained at the discretion of the Russian courts. The changes are an indicator of systematic work to ensure the country's political sovereignty, experts noted. And with such well-established rules of the game, communication between relevant authorities will become more transparent, political scientists believe. How the amendments will work is in the Izvestia article.

What they propose to change

The refusal to comply with the rulings of international criminal courts is proposed to be fixed in Russian legislation. Such amendments to the federal constitutional law were approved by the government commission on Monday, November 10. This was reported to Izvestia by sources in the Cabinet of Ministers.

The changes should consolidate the protection of Russia's legal sovereignty from external court decisions, said Vladimir Gruzdev, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Bar Association.

"Rulings of courts of foreign states with powers in the field of criminal proceedings and international judicial bodies whose competence is not based on an international treaty of Russia or a resolution of the UN Security Council will not be subject to enforcement in our country," he said.

If the amendments are adopted, Russia will have the right not to comply with the decisions of foreign or international courts, unless there is a corresponding international treaty or a decision of the UN Security Council.

— These amendments will be applicable, for example, to the verdicts of the International Criminal Court (ICC), — said Vladimir Gruzdev. — Let me remind you that Russia has withdrawn its intention to become a party to the Rome Statute, on the basis of which the ICC operates.

In particular, we are talking about Chapter VII of the UN Charter dated June 26, 1945. It prescribes actions in relation to threats to peace, its violations and acts of aggression. In such cases, the Security Council may decide which measures, not related to the use of armed forces, should be applied to implement its decisions.

Such measures may include the complete or partial interruption of economic relations, rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio or other means of communication, as well as the severance of diplomatic relations. If the UN Security Council decides that these measures are insufficient, it may approve demonstrations, blockades, and other operations by air, sea, or land forces of the organization's members.

The innovation may be a response to the failure to comply with the requirements put forward by Russian courts in Western countries, said Tatiana Kurushina, senior associate at Mikhailov & Co. Law Agency.

— In fact, the amendments eliminated the alternative of applying the principle of public order. Thus, it is planned to reduce and limit the influence of foreign jurisdictions on Russia's internal affairs," the expert said.

Currently, the possibility of refusing recognition and the decision to enforce a foreign court verdict in Russia is left to the discretion of the Russian judicial authorities.

— The innovation establishes a mandatory ban on the execution of judgments of foreign courts and international judicial authorities, — the lawyer believes.

The application of this principle has been controversial due to the streamlined wording and loose interpretation of the principle. But in the future, this decision may create difficulties for businesses and individuals, says Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of the analytical agency VMT Consult.

— The speed of dispute resolution involving Russian citizens will decrease, which may indirectly negatively affect the investment climate. The principles of international law enforcement cooperation may also be compromised," the lawyer said.

How can Western countries react?

The proposed changes indicate that the Russian authorities are streamlining legal legislation, said Ilya Shcherbakov, an employee of the Department of International Relations and Integration Processes at the Faculty of Political Science at Moscow State University. They are in line with the amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation introduced in 2020, one of which is related to the prioritization of legislation in the field of protecting the rights of Russian citizens over international ones.

"The intensification of confrontation between Russia and Western countries after 2022 has become only a suitable working context for such changes," the expert noted. "They will optimize international communication between the relevant authorities of Russia and foreign, primarily European states and make it more transparent.

The amendments are a continuation of systematic work to ensure Russia's political sovereignty, said Oleg Lyakhovenko, an expert at the Russian Society of Political Scientists.

"Our fundamental documents, for example, the concept of foreign policy, clearly state that the Russian Federation is guided by the generally recognized rules and principles of the United Nations, and international treaties that Russia recognizes should not contradict the Constitution," he said.

Ilya Shcherbakov recalled that Russia withdrew from the European Court of Human Rights in 2022. In addition, changes have been made to the Russian procedural legislation, according to which the decisions of the ECHR no longer serve as a basis for reviewing cases in Russian courts.

— On the one hand, mutual "legal communication" on complaints against Russia has stopped, but, on the other hand, the cooperation of the ECHR at the level of diplomacy of NGOs connected with Russia in one way or another has begun to expand. — he thinks. — A similar international reaction should probably be expected in this case.

In general, the position of unfriendly states on this issue "obviously does not deserve attention," Oleg Lyakhovenko noted.

—As for the countries interested in healthy relations with Russia, they already have extensive experience of direct or indirect resistance to initiatives imposed by the West," the expert said.

The legislative restriction on the execution of decisions of institutions of global influence and the further division of the world into different jurisdictions is an important milestone in the formation of a multipolar world, Oleg Lyakhovenko believes.