Although the Russian constitutional court has had a relatively short history, it does play an important role in the development of constitutional law and the political system in contemporary Russia. Specifically, the constitutional court holds an influence over the practical application of the constitution through its interpretation of this basic law and thus ensures the primacy of the constitution.
The understanding of the content and limits of human rights and freedoms depends directly on the interpretation of the constitution and federal laws.
In fact, the constitutional court positions itself among other State institutions as the ‘guardian of values’ rather than the ‘guarantor of the constitution’. This defines the court’s legal and political nature.
On the one hand, the constitutional court must ensure the supremacy of national law over the entire Russian territory; as a result, it can reinterpret article 15 of the 1993 constitution in the interests of State sovereignty.
On the other hand, under article 2 of the constitution, ‘man, his rights and freedoms are the supreme value.’ Furthermore, the State is restricted by this article to recognise, observe and protect the rights and freedoms of man and citizen.
As such, it is difficult to draw quick conclusions on how the Russian constitutional court may develop in the coming years. Nevertheless, this lecture will analyse its legal and political nature and its decisions in order to grasp the role it plays in protecting human rights and the rule of law in the Russia of today.

Lecture by Vassily Tokarev of Russia. Mr Tokarev is head of the Legal History Chair at the Faculty of Law of the Samara State Academy, director of the Legal and Historical Sciences Research Laboratory, associate researcher at the Institute for Advance Studies on Justice (Paris), member of the Comparative Legislation Society (Paris), member of the Democracy Centre (University of Liege) and a team member of the National Observatory of Linguistic Rights (University of Montreal).


As a guest professor to Toulouse 1 Capitole University, Mr Tokarev participated, on 25 May 2018, in the symposium: Perspectives on Russian law as it stands today