Constitutional Court Chairman: Russia May Withdraw from European Convention on Human Rights

Russia’s Constitutional Court Chairman, Valery Zorkin, publicly warned that “Russia, if it wishes, may withdraw from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights.” The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a judicial body established by the European Convention on Human Rights to provide legal recourse of last resort for those who feel that their human rights have been violated by a country participating in the Convention. The Russian Constitutional Court resolves Russian constitutional law issues. Zorkin made his statement in the context of a dispute over which Court’s decision would prevail in case of a conflict. A recent example of that kind of conflict is the Markin v. Russia case, wherein it was determined that a military serviceman was not entitled to the same parental leave as a military servicewoman would have had in his place. Zorkin's Constitutional Court okayed this practice, but the Strasbourg Court found it discriminatory.
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