Russia and the European Human Rights System
UW Ingraham Hall 1155 Observatory Drive, Madison, Wisconsin
press release: Jeffrey Kahn, Southern Methodist University
Russia eagerly ratified the European Convention on Human Rights in 1998. Twenty years later, the Chairman of its Constitutional Court now expresses resentment at the subordination he claims it works on Russian sovereignty. And twice since 2016, this Russian court has expressly declined to give effect to judgments against Russia by the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the Convention, including refusal to pay its largest damages judgment against Russia in the tumultuous history of Russia’s membership in the Council of Europe.
Although other parties to the European Convention have been delinquent in meeting their legal obligations under it, only Russia has taken such defiant steps. This raises both theoretical and practical questions about the future of this extraordinarily successful human rights system, and Russia’s future in it.
Co-sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School Research Centers and Human Rights Program.
CREECA's weekly lecture series takes place in Room 206 of Ingraham Hall.