Russian courts may not suspend evictions at request of UN committee

The Constitutional Court of Russia found no grounds for checking the norms of legislation, on the basis of which the spouses from Murmansk were denied the postponement of eviction from the only housing for debts. The Court reiterated that the request of the UN Human Rights Committee for interim measures was advisory rather than binding for Russian courts.

The applicants were Lidia and Oleg Kazorin, who sought to suspend the eviction pending the examination of their complaint by an international body. The UN Human Rights Committee, which is considering the appeal of the couple, has suggested that the Russian authorities not to evict the family until a decision is made on the merits of the case.

However, the Russian courts did not consider this request a sufficient reason to postpone the enforcement proceedings. As the Constitutional Court pointed out in its decision published on its website, in the absence of a decision on the merits of the case, the grounds for granting a delay should be truly exceptional. The assessment of such circumstances remains within the competence of the court.

The Kazorins asked to check the provisions of the Civil Code and the law on enforcement proceedings. According to the applicants, the current rules do not provide for the possibility of suspending the execution of the decision on eviction on the basis of a request by the UN Human Rights Committee.

The couple referred to the provisions of the Russian Constitution on the priority of international treaties over national legislation. They also pointed out that Russia is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Optional Protocol, which provides for the consideration of individual applications by a UN committee.

Earlier, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of Russia came to a similar conclusion about the advisory nature of such requests. He overturned the decision of the lower court, which suspended the enforcement proceedings.