Ruling of the ECHR to influence policy of Latvian authority regarding Russian speakers

The ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the case of Tatyana Slivenko will influence the policy of Latvian authorities with regard to Russian speakers in that country, Yuri Sharandin, chairman of the constitutional legislation committee of the Federation Council (Upper House of the Russian parliament), said on Friday.

Slivenko accused the Latvian authorities of illegally depriving her of the status of permanent resident of Latvia and expelling her from the country together with her husband and daughter. The ECHR judges ruled on Thursday that this decision of the Latvian authorities violated the European Convention on Human Rights.

According to Sharandin, the ruling created a precedent that can be spread to all former citizens of the Soviet Union who reside in the former Soviet republics. "The prestige of the ECHR is extremely high and there was not a single instance when state authorities did not abide by its decisions," he said.

The committee chairman pointed out that the ECHR "has never been accused of double standards" and "though it cannot cancel the decisions of national justice, its decisions are binding on Council of Europe members."