Ha, you remember how Putin and his deputies came up with an entire scheme for “how not to comply with ECHR rulings.”
They passed a special law under which the Constitutional Court can review such rulings and, in a “special case,” decide that they do not conform to our “traditional values” and spirituality—meaning they can simply be ignored.
As examples, they kept citing absurd hypotheticals like: “What if the ECHR starts forcing us to hand over our children’s organs for transplants to Nazi gays?” The idea was: in that case, we can rest easy. The Constitutional Court will protect us.
I hasten to report that this stage is behind us. It is a sad day for Russia’s entire legal community. We have just had a session of the Presidium of the Supreme Court, where it was announced that no elaborate legal constructions are needed anymore.
There is no need anymore even for a mockingly performative ruling, like in the Kirovles case, where the verdict was overturned (formally complying with the ECHR ruling) and the case sent back for retrial—only for the same verdict to be handed down again.
The new practice looks like this—literally. The court ruled: reopen the proceedings in the case; leave the verdict unchanged.
We simply will not comply, and that’s that.
After that, there was even an awkward pause in the courtroom—everyone was waiting for something more. “Surely that can’t be all.”
Oleg will remain in his cell, despite having won his case at the ECHR.
There is no judiciary in Russia, and as of today even the chances of influencing it through a higher authority have been drastically reduced. This is big news—and a big step toward a new low.
Putin’s inauguration is on May 7. On May 5 there will be rallies across the country, and people need to come out and say what they do not agree with. Come out if you consider yourself a citizen.
In Moscow, it is Tverskaya Street at 2:00 p.m.