Russia’s Supreme Court formally removed the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) from the country’s legal framework, according to The Moscow Times on December 9.
The decision follows Russia’s 2022 withdrawal from the Council of Europe—and therefore from the ECHR’s jurisdiction—after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
During a plenary session chaired by newly appointed Justice Igor Krasnov, the Supreme Court ruled that a 2013 decree permitting Russian courts to apply the European Convention on Human Rights is now invalid. The court also eliminated references to the ECHR and its rulings from other legal acts.
In its updated position, the court stressed that Russian domestic law, along with international agreements to which Russia remains a party, will now serve as the primary basis for human-rights protections.
These include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
Legal experts note that, unlike the European Convention, instruments such as the UN Covenant lack strong enforcement mechanisms, effectively giving Russian courts greater discretion in their decisions.
Russia joined the European Convention on Human Rights in 1988 but was expelled from the Council of Europe—the human-rights body that oversees the ECHR—in September 2022. Since then, Russian authorities have not been obligated to uphold the convention’s standards, although the government remains responsible for violations committed before its exit.
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The ECHR, an institution of the Council of Europe, is responsible for enforcing the European Convention on Human Rights across 46 member states.
Previously, Russia's Ministry of Justice has officially labeled the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) as an “undesirable organization,” according to Current Time, the Russian-language independent news network produced by Radio Free Europe, on November 2.
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