The State Duma adopted a law on the termination of the Council of Europe treaties in Russia

State Duma adopted law on the termination of international treaties of the Council of Europe in Russia, the press service of the lower house of parliament reported.

“The adopted law consolidates the legal aspect of the decision to terminate Russia’s membership in the Council of Europe dated March 16, 2022. The document provides for Russia’s withdrawal from the 21 CE international treaties,” the statement says. message.

We are talking, in particular, about the termination of the Charter of the Council of Europe of May 5, 1949, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of November 4, 1950, the European Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism of January 27, 1977, the Charter local government of October 15, 1985 and the Social Charter of May 3, 1996.

This law was introduced to the Duma by Russian President Vladimir Putin in mid-January.

Against the backdrop of the start of a special operation in Ukraine, the Council of Europe on February 25, 2022 suspended the representation of Russia in the statutory bodies of the Council of Europe. In this regard, on March 15, the Russian Foreign Ministry handed a notice of the voluntary withdrawal of the Russian Federation from the organization to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Maria Pejchinovich-Burich.

However, already on March 16, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided to exclude Russia from the organization after 26 years of membership. The Russian authorities stressed that the country itself had withdrawn from the Council of Europe, which also implies withdrawal from the ECtHR. On September 16, the Russian Federation ceased to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and withdrew from the jurisdiction of the ECtHR. At the same time, the Foreign Ministry emphasized that the Russian Federation would continue to implement the already adopted decisions of the ECHR, if they did not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation. It was explained that the provisions of the main treaty-legal acts of the Council of Europe are included in the Russian legislation.

Yesterday, February 15, the State Duma denounced the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, signed by the Russian Federation in 1999 and ratified in 2006. The explanatory note noted that earlier the Committee of the Council of Europe had terminated the full participation of the Russian Federation in the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) as part of its resolution on the legal and financial consequences termination of Russia’s membership in the Council of Europe. This organization monitors the implementation of the convention signed by the parties.