Soboleva, A.K. Interpretation of right for judicial protection within the framework of election legislation: the latest word from the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation

Abstract: On March 14, 2013 the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation has considered the case on constitutionality of some provisions of the Civil Procedural Code of the Russian Federation, the Federal Laws «On the basic guarantees of election rights and right to participate in referenda», «On elections of the deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation». The claimants, including the Plenipotentiary Representative on Human Rights, the regional division of the «Fair Russia», member of the precinct election commission, election observer and elector, have challenged the official results of elections in court, however, their claims were not accepted for consideration. Citizen O.B. Belov had filed a claim on violation of his constitutional rights by application of para.1 of part 1 of the Art. 134 of the Civil Procedural Code of the Russian Federation in its relation with the Art. 220 and part 1 of Art 259 of the CPC. The claimant asked the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation to establish unconstitutionality of the existing practice of interpretation of these provisions of the CPC, as well as the provisions of p. 10 of Art 75 of the Federal Law of June 12, 2002 N. 67-FZ «On the basic guarantees of election rights and right to participate in referenda «to an extent to which its application by the courts of general jurisdiction prevents the individual electors from challenging In court of the procedural violations by the precinct and territorial election commissions regarding counting voices of electors and completion of the protocols, since such a practice contradicts the provisions of p. 3 of Art. 3, p. 2 of Art. 32, p.1 of Art. 46 and p. 3 of Art. 55 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. This article is based upon the speech by the author as a representative of one of the parties in the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on the above-mentioned case.

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