MINISTERS’ DEPUTIES

Decisions

CM/Del/Dec(2024)1514/A3

5 December 2024

1514^th meeting, 3-5 December 2024 (DH)

A.3. Cases pending against the Russian Federation

Decisions

The Deputies

1. recalling that although the Russian Federation ceased to be a High Contracting Party to the Convention on 16 September 2022, it remains bound by obligations under the Convention, including to implement the judgments of the Court, in accordance with Article 58 of the Convention, and recalling further that the Committee of Ministers continues to supervise the execution of the judgments and friendly settlements concerned (Resolution of 22 March 2022 of the Court and Resolution CM/Res(2022)3);

2. deeply regretted that the Russian authorities have ceased all communication with the Committee of Ministers concerning the execution of judgments, as well as the absence of any indication that any measure has been taken to execute judgments of the Court against the Russian Federation since 2022; deplored the continued absence of response of the Russian authorities to the Committee’s interim resolutions and decisions, despite several letters of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, informing him of them; urged once again the Russian Federation to comply with their obligations under International law and the Convention to fully abide by the judgments of the Court, including by paying the just satisfaction awarded by the Court, along with the interest accrued;

3. welcomed the continued submission of communications in particular by applicants and NGOs to the Committee of Ministers, under Rule 9 of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers for the supervision of the execution of judgments and of the terms of friendly settlements; reiterated that these constitute a vital source of information as regards the state of human rights situation in Russia, and encouraged them to continue;

4. considering the strategic importance of implementation of judgments in inter-State cases, cases relating to interstate disputes and armed conflicts for the member States of the Council of Europe and the Convention system, including to ensure accountability in the context of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, underlined the importance of continuing its practice adopted so far in examination of such cases at regular intervals;

5 took note of the information document prepared by the Secretariat for the present meeting (CM/Notes/1514/H46-A3) and requested the Secretariat to:

- continue to bring the Committee’s decisions concerning the execution of judgments of the Court against the Russian Federation to the attention of other relevant international organisations and bodies as appropriate, and further to explore how better synergies can be developed with them to ensure that the Russian Federation complies with its obligation to fully abide by the judgments of the Court;

- explore further avenues to reinforce co-operation with the civil society, including through further informal exchanges of views between the Committee of Ministers and representatives of Russian NGOs relating to cases pending against the Russian Federation;

- further enhance its work on visibility and communication as regards the Committee’s supervision over execution of judgments concerning the Russian Federation;

- implement the proposed strategy for case processing, including by preparing and updating for each DH meeting, as of the 1521^st meeting (4-6 March 2025) (DH), a CM/Inf document offering an overview of the execution measures required in all leading Russian cases pending execution;

6. invited the Secretary General to send a letter once a year, after the December DH meeting, to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, informing him of the decisions and resolutions adopted during the year by the Committee of Ministers concerning cases where the Russian Federation is the respondent State;

7. agreed to keep under review the strategy to ensure implementation of judgments of the Court with respect to the Russian Federation and to resume consideration of this matter at its DH meeting in December 2025 at the latest, on the basis of an updated overview and suggestions to be prepared by the Secretariat.