Key takeaways

• On December 15, 2015 amendments to the Federal Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation came into force, investing the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation with powers to decide on whether judgments of the international human rights body are enforceable in Russia.
• The amendments are geared towards the implementation of Ruling of the Constitutional Court No. 21-P dated July 14, 2015 on the enforcement of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Russia.
• The processes by which the Constitutional Court determines whether the judgments of any international human rights bodies, including the ECHR, may or may not be enforced can be set in motion at the special request of an authorized federal executive body or at the request of the Russian President or the Russian Government for an interpretation of the Russian Constitution.
• If the Constitutional Court issues a ruling to the effect that a judgment of an international human rights body cannot be enforced, or if the Constitutional Court interprets the provisions of the Russian Constitution as not permitting the enforcement of the judgment, this will mean that it is prohibited to perform or adopt any actions or acts aimed at the implementation of the judgment in Russia.