International Law and the Russian Legal System

Book excerpt: This work analyzes the interaction between international law and the Russian legal system at a level of detail and sophistication without precedent in Russian legal doctrine. This topic has become vital for Russian courts because generally recognized principles and norms of international law and international treaties have become part of the Russian legal system since the Constitution of Russia was adopted in 1993. Great attention is paid in this study to Russian judicial practice in applying customary and treaty norms (the author had access to unpublished decisions in the archives of the Russian Supreme Court and other courts of the Russian Federation). The book also gives attention to the impact of decisions of international organizations and the practice of the European Court for Human Rights. The author sets out the legal foundations of the interaction between international law and municipal law in relations between subjects of international and national law, and he addresses at length whether and when the direct application of international legal norms is possible in the domestic legal relations of Russia. The book raises to a new level the continuing discussion of the correlation of international and national law. Classic concepts of monism and dualism cannot cope with all aspects of the interaction of international and national law. International Law and the Russian Legal System will be of interest to academics, practicing lawyers, government legal advisors, and investors.