Watch out for the car: Supreme Court allowed to drive wanted car

“The Russian Armed Forces defended the rights of bona fide buyers of foreign cars from the actions of unfriendly countries,” the press release of the highest court said. The background to this case is this.

At the end of 2023, the plaintiff purchased a Dodge RAM 1500 car, which was soon found to be on the international wanted list: it was stolen in Canada in the same year 2023. Therefore, the relevant unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs refused the unsuccessful buyer to register the car, thus depriving him of the opportunity to use it. Kosachev went to court. And finally came to the Supreme.

The police department justified its position in the legal dispute by the fact that a car can be excluded from the international register of stolen vehicles only in two cases: either on the initiative of the party that declared it wanted, or after the expiration of the control period for storing information. But the Supreme Court sided with the plaintiff, setting another ground for legalization.

"The Civil Affairs Board of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation has changed the adopted decisions and ordered the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to lift the ban on registration actions against the car and allow it to be used, pointing to the need to protect the legitimate interests of Russian citizens who own vehicles wanted at the initiative of unfriendly countries," the press service of the Supreme Court said.

Well, as this information suggests, the new additional basis is the unfriendly state in which the car was stolen. As you can see, today is 49. In addition to Canada, this “black list” includes the United States, Ukraine, all 27 EU countries, Great Britain with all indigenous possessions and overseas territories, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Andorra, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan ...

Anyway, there's no one there. There are even San Marino, Monaco, Singapore and the Federated States of Micronesia. And even the Republic of China. But don’t worry, this is not about our strategic partners, it’s not about the People’s Republic of China, it’s about Taiwan.

At the same time, the Supreme Court does not say anything about cases when cars are wanted on the initiative of countries that are not on the “black list”, that is, by default friendly. And, therefore, all previous prohibitions remain in force. Based on the logic of this approach, a vehicle stolen in an unfriendly power can be considered a trophy. Expropriation, so to speak, of the expropriators. Punishment for unfriendlyness. Perhaps there will be some additional explanations, but so far the situation looks like this.

In any case, no matter how it looks, the verdict of the Supreme Court raises a lot of questions that remain unanswered. What if, for example, a state – say, Canada, the United States or some Slovakia – leaves the blacklist, turns from unfriendly to friendly, and the owner of the stolen vehicle does not withdraw his claims, does not withdraw the car from the wanted list?

Will the car be removed from the register and the new owner be obliged to return the car to the owner? It is also unclear what will happen if the cars will disappear and show up in some unfriendly lands. Will we then work for the return and punishment of those responsible, or will we agree on the principle of reciprocity, on the zero option: neither yours nor ours?

Finally, the automobile is not a luxury, nor is it the only means of transportation on Earth. There is also horse, water, rail, air transport. Will the question be decided on the basis of unfriendlyness or friendliness in the event of an involuntary change of ownership?

In short, the Supreme Court opens an interesting new chapter in the history of Russian law, a new path full of the unknown.