Russia's Constitutional Court: Russian Constitution Supreme Over European Human Rights Court Orders

RT reports on a decision handed down Tuesday by Russia's Constitutional Court holding that decisions of the European Court of Human Rights do not take precedence over the Russian Constitution. The decision came in a suit filed by a group of State Duma deputies, representing all four parliamentary caucuses. They challenged Russian laws that appear to require Russian courts and state agencies to carry out all orders of the European Court. In its decision, Russian court said in part:

The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as well as legal positions of the ECHR that are based on it cannot cancel the priority of the Constitution. All decisions of the ECHR must be executed only with consideration to the Russian Constitution’s supremacy. As an exception, Russia can refuse to fulfill the imposed obligations when such a refusal is the only way to prevent the violation of the basic law.

It is expected that the decision may be used as a basis for challenging a European Court decision last year that ordered Russia to pay $2.5 billion in compensation for dissolving the Yukos Oil Co.