Lawmakers from the ruling United Russia party are preparing a bill that would enable the dismissal of foreign courts' "unjust" decisions on cases that could have been heard in Russia, a top State Duma official said.
This initiative, which is being spearheaded by Vladimir Ponevezhsky, the Duma's representative at the Supreme Court, would also allow Russian citizens and legal entities to seek compensation from the Russian government in the event that a foreign court rules against them, Interfax reported Thursday, citing Vladimir Pligin, the chairman of the Duma committee for constitutional legislation.
A similar bill was submitted to the Duma in March 2013, but the body's Legislation Committee did not review it at the time.
Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliev endorsed the initiative, saying that it would be helpful for litigation over property in Crimea, Kommersant reported. In March, the Crimean authorities nationalized Ukrainian-owned enterprises operating in the former Ukrainian peninsula.
"Given that international courts could apply double standards in these current circumstances, this initiative can have serious reason for being," Termigaliev told Kommersant.
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