At the PACE session, Russia was called upon to implement the decisions of the ECHR

The Russian Federation ranks first in terms of the number of unexecuted decisions of the European Court of Human Rights among all the member countries of the Council of Europe. In addition, in Russia, more than in the case of any other European state, there are more unexecuted decisions of the ECtHR on so-called main cases. This is stated in the report “Implementation of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights”, heard in Strasbourg at the spring session of the Council of Europe on April 26.

“The current situation means that the victims are still waiting for the opportunity to fully exercise their rights in Russia in accordance with international standards and decisions of the ECHR,” said the author of the report Konstantinos Efstatiou. According to him, despite the fact that Moscow was excluded from the mechanisms of the Council of Europe in 2022, the conclusions described in the report concern problems related to the time when Russia was a member of the Council of Europe.

“The Russian Federation, according to international law, is still bound by obligations to respect human rights and to implement final decisions made against it in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights. But in this case, it is not only about international legal obligations, but primarily that the implementation of the decisions of the ECHR is in the interests of the people of Russia,” Efstatiu said.

The report mentions several of the most problematic cases that are still under consideration by the ECHR, as well as on which decisions were made. They concern restrictions on freedom of speech, blocking of online resources due to publications condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, abduction of people in Chechnya, multiple violations of the rights of those in custody, the case of Yukos and Alexei Navalny.

“As of December 31, 2021, out of 5,533 cases under consideration by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which controls the implementation of ECtHR decisions, the largest number of cases concerned the Russian Federation (1,942), that is, 35% of all cases. Currently, Russia at least 2,395 decisions have not been implemented. Despite the fact that Russia ceased to be a member of the Council of Europe, more than 22% of all claims submitted to the ECHR concern the Russian Federation,” the authors write in the section on Russia.

Among the problems preventing the implementation of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights of Russia, “constant problems with the rule of law, intolerance of democracy and freedom of speech, as well as the consequences of interference, often military, in the affairs of the countries of the region” are noted. In particular, the authors of the document mention the cases “Georgia vs. Russia”, “Moldova vs. Russia”, as well as several cases on which there is no verdict yet, for example, about the downing of the Malaysian Airlines Boeing in the Donetsk region in 2014.

The report states that Russia did not comply with the decisions of the ECHR not only after it started aggression in Ukraine and was excluded from the mechanisms of the Council of Europe, but also before, when it was a full member of the international organization.

Efstatiu called on the countries mentioned in the report to carefully study the most high-profile cases on which the decisions of the ECtHR have been made and which have not yet been implemented, and to take measures. “People expect a fair treatment of them… Seeking Truth is the establishment of a culture of respect for human rights,” he said.

The report concerned primarily countries, and more often than not, countries that do not comply with ECtHR decisions. The purpose of the document is to identify problems due to which decisions are not implemented due to the lack of political will or mechanisms within the states, most often related to the need for reforms in those areas where human rights are violated.

In addition to Russia, the report pays attention to five countries: Azerbaijan, Hungary, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine.

“The Assembly of the Council of Europe is still deeply concerned about the number of cases of identified structural and complex problems that have been under consideration by the Committee of Ministers for more than five years. Along with this, there is an understanding that the situation in Ukraine is difficult compared to other countries due to Russia’s aggressive war and its consequences for the Ukrainian authorities and society as a whole,” the authors of the report write.

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