Putin Announces Ending Agreements with Council of Europe

On Tuesday, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin submitted a draft law to the State Duma [Russian Parliament] on the termination of international agreements of the Council of Europe with respect to the Russian Federation.

Putin intended to end Moscow's full membership in the group of countries against corruption that monitors implementation of the agreement.

This relates to the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism, the European Social Charter and other agreements.

The European Convention on Human Rights also formally ceased to apply to Russia in September, and Russia pre-emptively withdrew from the council after the Strasbourg-based human rights body said the country faced expulsion over its war with Ukraine.

However, many thousands of cases against Moscow are still pending in court, were filed before Russia was formally excluded, and therefore must be heard by the court.

According to the agreement, Russia is still contractually obligated to enforce the provisions of these remaining lawsuits, and Moscow has already said it will not comply.