Law & Legislation

State Duma committee supports bill that would allow convicts to run for office

The State Duma Committee for Constitutional Legislation and Nation Building supported Tuesday a bill proposing the imposition of a ban against felony offenders' running for public office within 10 years following the expunction of their records.

14:11 03.12.2013

Anti-piracy law to cover software and photographs – report

Russia's Ministry of Culture has submitted to the government amendments to the anti-piracy law so as to ensure the protection of copyright protected content except music.

12:04 03.12.2013

Law ending Gazprom's gas export monopoly enters into force

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a landmark law breaking state-owned Gazprom’s monopoly on gas exports.

15:58 02.12.2013

Russian investigators propose holding organizations criminally accountable

Russia’s Investigative Committee has again proposed opening up organizations to criminal liability – specifically in cases involving drug trafficking.

14:40 02.12.2013

Russian lawmakers propose criminalizing online drug advertisements

Russian lawmaker Irina Yarovaya encouraged the criminalization of online illegal drug advertisements during a State Duma roundtable discussion on drug prevention Monday.

13:01 02.12.2013

Egyptian draft constitution approved, set for referendum

A 50-member commission established to amend the Egyptian Constitution approved the draft of a new constitution for the country on Monday night, said the head of the commission, Amr Moussa.

11:32 02.12.2013

State Duma supports proposal to make Russian an official EU language

The State Duma is supporting the idea of making Russian an official European Union language, State Duma Defense Committee Member Alexei Zhuravlyov (United Russia) said at a roundtable discussion on the current state and prospects of Russia's language policy held by the lower house on Thursday.

16:11 28.11.2013

Five myths about Russian judicial reform

Last June President Vladimir Putin suggested merging the Supreme Court and the Supreme Commercial Court and amending the Constitution to match. Since then the State Duma has received many draft laws relating to the merger and the court’s impending relocation to Saint Petersburg. However, some lawyers are vigorously speaking out against any such reform.

18:52 26.11.2013

Russian lawmakers move to ban fine print in contracts

A Just Russia party lawmaker Oleg Mikheev submitted a bill proposing a ban on fine and unintelligible print in contracts.

15:24 26.11.2013

Putin signs bill banning abortion advertisement

President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill which bans the advertisement of pregnancy termination by medical services or traditional practices into law.

16:55 25.11.2013

Top news

Russian courts allowed not to implement rulings of Europe's human rights court

Russia's Supreme Court proposed not to implement rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR).

12:53 09.12.2025

Redomiciliation stalls: How sanctions are shaping new practices for Russian companies

The mechanism for redomiciliating foreign companies to Russian jurisdiction, in effect since 2018, has recently encountered serious obstacles. Taking into account the background of sanctions-related restrictions introduced in 2022 through 2025, it has become extremely difficult to achieve the goal. The situation gave rise to the phenomenon of dual domicile and led to a rise in the number of new litigations, both in Russia and abroad.

12:32 09.12.2025

Soldiers jailed for killing US journalist Russell Bentley

A military court in Donetsk sentenced three soldiers to up to 12 years in prison for torturing and killing Russell Bentley, a 63-year-old U.S. national who collaborated with Sputnik news agency.

14:05 08.12.2025