Press Release, 18.03.2025

Photo by Anatoly Zhdanov, Kommersant

On 18 March, 2025, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation confirmed that the head of the regional branch of a political party has the authority to sign documents to register the nominated list of candidates from the moment of his/her election. The ruling was made at a collegial court session. The victory of Pskov Yabloko ended a nearly two-year dispute in which the courts of general jurisdiction, as well as the Electoral Commission of the Pskov Region, took a deliberately unlawful position.

The case on verifying the constitutionality of the provisions of Article 23 Paragraph 4 of the Federal Law “On Non-Commercial Organisations”, Article 27 Paragraph 5 of the Federal Law “On Political Parties”, Article 5 Subparagraph “l” of Paragraph 1 of the Federal Law “On State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs”, Article 38 Subparagraph “b” of Paragraph 25 of the Federal Law “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation” and Article 36 Subparagraph “b” of Paragraph 9 of the Electoral Code of the Pskov Region was considered by the Constitutional Court based on a complaint from the Pskov regional branch of the Yabloko party.

It should be noted that in August 2023, territorial electoral commissions registered documents from the Pskov regional branch of the Yabloko party confirming the nomination of lists of candidates for participation in municipal elections in the Krasnogorodsky, Loknyansky, Novorzhevsky, Pechorsky, Pytalovsky, Opochetsky, and Strugo-Krasnensky districts.

However, the registration was appealed in court by representatives of the Party of Growth, A Just Russia party, and the Party of Pensioners. In support of their claims, they stated that the documents were submitted to the electoral commissions on 16 and 17 July, 2023, and signed by the new Chairman of the regional branch of the party, Artur Gaiduk, who was elected in June. However, information about Gaiduk, as a person entitled to act without a power of attorney on behalf of a legal entity, was entered into the Unified State Register of Legal Entities only on 18 July, 2023.

The district courts of the Pskov Region, the Pskov Regional Court, the Third Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court came to the conclusion that the documents were signed by an unauthorised person, and this constituted a material violation entailing cancellation of the registration.

The Constitutional Court of Russia recognised these decisions as inconsistent with the Constitution and federal legislation. Thus, the lists of Pskov Yabloko were disqualified from participating in the elections unlawfully. The Electoral Commission of the Pskov Region also took unlawful position in the courts, and did not support the legal decisions of the territorial commissions, but supported the unlawful demands of the parties competing with Yabloko.

According to the ruling of the Constitutional Court, Pskov Yabloko has the right to compensation for the consequences of the violation of constitutional rights.

This is the first decision by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation in its history, when Yabloko as a plaintiff won a case in the Constitutional Court.