Russian Federation*
ENTRY INTO FORCE of the European Convention on Human Rights
5 May 1998
Number of implemented cases**
1035
Following its expulsion from the Council of Europe on 16 March 2022, the Russian Federation ceased to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights on 16 September 2022.
Examples
European court judgment leads to re-registration of political party
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Russian authorities violated a political party’s freedom of association by refusing to change information in its official register and later ordering the closure of the party. The European court’s judgment led to the re-registration of the party. It also prompted Russia to bring in clearer rules around the registration of political parties.
Russian Federation*
Court win for victims of the Beslan school terrorism attack
In September 2004, over 330 people were killed (including over 180 children) and 750 injured in the Beslan hostage crisis. The authorities had had enough information to know that there would be an upcoming terrorist attack, but had not increased security or warned the public. Due to this shortcoming and others, the European Court ruled that the authorities had failed to properly protect the...
Reforms introduced after failure to pay compensation to Chernobyl rescue worker
Anatoliy Burdov was exposed to radiation whilst working on the emergency response to the Chernobyl disaster. He was entitled to certain social benefits, but the authorities refused to pay - even when ordered to do so by Russian courts. The European court said that this violated Mr Burdov’s rights. As a result, reforms were introduced to improve the enforcement of judgments.
Death of an alleged victim of human trafficking
At age 20, Oxana Rantseva was allegedly trafficked from Russia to Cyprus for sexual exploitation. Two weeks later, she was found dead beneath a balcony after trying to escape. The European court found that the authorities had failed to protect her and also failed to properly investigate after her death. Following the events, a series of measures were carried out to fight human trafficking.
Cyprus
Illegal detention of innocent man and reforms to protect the right to liberty
Sergey Solovyev lost three years of his life in a cell, after being falsely accused of manslaughter. At one point his detention was extended without an order from a judge and contrary to Russian law. The European court ruled that Mr Solovyev’s right to liberty had been breached. Russia changed its criminal laws to prevent unlawful detention orders and protect the right to liberty.
Justice for man who was fined for writing an article
Isaak Grinberg wrote an opinion article criticising a local governor. The governor sued him for defamation, making him pay a fine. The European court ruled that Isaak had been punished for giving a value judgment about a public figure. This violated his right to free speech. Isaak was awarded €1,120 in compensation.
** This figure includes all judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights (including friendly settlements) concerning which the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has decided that all necessary follow-up measures have been taken. Source: the database of the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the ECHR, HUDOC-EXEC.