|
The law,
published on Tuesday on the government website, enables the
Russian court to overturn decisions of the Strasbourg-based
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) if it deems them
unconstitutional.
Human Rights Watch has said the law is designed to thwart the
ability of victims of human rights violations in Russia to find
justice through international bodies.
The law comes after the ECHR ruled in 2014 that Russia must pay
a 1.9 billion euro ($2.09 billion) award to shareholders of the
defunct Yukos oil company, a verdict that added to financial
pressure on Moscow as it struggles with shrinking revenues due
to tumbling oil prices and Western sanctions.
The ECHR said it had received 218 complaints against Russia in
2014 and that it had found 122 cases in which Moscow had
violated the European Convention on Human Rights, including the
deportation of Georgian citizens in 2006 and the incarceration
of defendants in metal cages during Russian court hearings.
Russia's parliament approved the new bill last week and Putin
signed it into law on Monday.
Valery Zorkin, the head of Russian Constitutional Court, told
Putin on Monday that Russia was in favor of "dialogue" in case
there was a problem.
"I don't see any problem there, I think that people are worrying
for nothing," Zorkin said.
($1 = 0.9079 euros)
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Gareth Jones)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
|
