The Russian Ministry of Justice responded positively to the proposal of Yabloko

Press Release, 9.12.2020

Photo: Picture by Transparency International

The Russian Ministry of Justice plans to agree with all the authorities Russia’s accession to the convention on civil liability for corruption. Such a response came from the Ministry to Yabloko’s proposal to guarantee everyone the right to compensation in court for damage from corruption.

In mid-October, the Yabloko Party Bureau adopted a statement demanding from the President of Russia to sign an international convention on civil liability for corruption, submit it for ratification to the Russian parliament and prepare the necessary amendments to the legislation.

“The essence of the convention is the possibility of citizens to recover in court damages from the state for the use of power for personal gain. It is the state that should be responsible for the actions of corrupt officials, return money to the budget and compensate the victims,” Yabloko’s statement ran.

Earlier, the Centre for Anti-Corruption Research and Initiatives of Transparency International had launched a petition calling for the development of a draft law on compensation for harm from corruption. The petition has already been supported by over a thousand people.

The Russian Ministry of Justice replied to Yabloko that it had received an order from the Presidential Council, to work out together with the relevant authorities the accession to the convention. The order also includes the improvement of legislation. The ministry plans to carry out work on agreeing the proposal to join the convention with domestic authorities,” answered V.I Lysak, acting head of the Department of International Law and Cooperation of the Russian Ministry of Justice.

“This information inspires optimism that the issue will finally get off the ground: for 20 years the President has had every opportunity to sign the convention, but he has not done it. Without a public campaign, citizens will never have efficient mechanisms to compensate for damage from corruption in court. Therefore, we will continue to seek the ratification of the convention and introduction of amendments to the laws,” Nikolai Rybakov, Chairman of the Yabloko party, said.