Press Release, 17.03.2020

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation refused to accept the Yabloko’s lawsuit against President Vladimir Putin on the cancellation of his order to conduct an all-Russian vote on constitutional amendments. Party Chairman Nikolai Rybakov challenged this decision at the Board of Appeals of the Supreme Court.

It should be noted that on March 5, the Yabloko party filed an administrative lawsuit with the Supreme Court, demanding that the President’s order on the organisation of the nationwide vote on constitutional amendments be invalid, as Vladimir Putin exceeded his authority and violated several federal laws.

According to Yabloko’s lawsuit, Putin’s order violates the right of citizens to live in a law governed state. The right of the Yabloko party to participate in the development of decisions of the bodies of power was also violated.

However, the Supreme Court issued a ruling on the refusal to accept the claim, since allegedly “it did not follow [from the lawsuit] that the contested normative legal act violated or otherwise affected the party’s rights and legitimate interests”. “The contested order addresses the state authorities and electoral commissions, does not create obligations for the administrative plaintiff and does not prevent it from exercising its rights,” the court ruling runs.

The party insists that resolving the issue of the presence or absence of violated rights at the stage of accepting an application violates the plaintiff’s right to judicial protection guaranteed by the Constitution.

Yabloko asks the Board of Appeals to cancel the Supreme Court’s ruling, accept the lawsuit, and examine the issue on the merits.

“After the adoption of the law on the amendment by the Duma and the Federation Council and its approval by the Constitutional Court, it is difficult to talk about the rule of law. But we must do everything in our power to achieve justice and lawfulness in the highest and proper sense of these words. The trial is one of the steps along the way,” Nikolai Rybakov says.