Russian Parliament Gives Constitutional Court Priority Over Int'l Courts

Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, adopted on Friday a law that gives Russia's Constitutional Court the right to legally disregard the decisions of international courts if they violate the provisions of the Russian Constitution.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The amendments to the existing Law on the Constitutional Court were supported by 436 State Duma lawmakers, with only three voting against.

The amended law, in particular, would allow the Constitutional Court to decide whether Russia should respect the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).