Quote for the Week

Week-ending 13 November 2020

“The Constitutional Court ought to declare laws unconstitutional if they create contradictions and problems. […] There are several wordings that should be recognised as unconstitutional, but the Constitutional Court is afraid to do this. [Take for instance] the Law on Foreign Agents. It states that foreign funding and political activities serve as the basis for recognising an NGO as a foreign agent. The concept of political activity is entirely unclear and in practice anything can be seen as political activity. In other words, the concept is defined arbitrarily. But the Constitutional Court has not recognised this law as unconstitutional, and its interpretation – as in the Dadin case – influenced nothing. The Constitutional Court’s fear of recognising laws as inconsistent with the Constitution is a longstanding problem.”

– Sergei Golubok, human rights lawyer, St. Petersburg

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