Law & Legislation

State Duma proposes restricted police access to banks

Law enforcement agencies would have to obtain a court warrant for access to bank account information, according to amendment recommended for inclusion prior to the second reading of a bill on the prevention of illegal financial transactions.

16:29 16.05.2013

Ministry proposes criminal liability for trade in transplant organs

The Healthcare Ministry has proposed adding an article to the Criminal Code on liability for illegal trade in transplant organs.

15:58 16.05.2013

Duma mulls amnesty for financial crimes

The State Duma is working on a resolution to amnesty those who are serving sentences for financial crimes under nearly 50 Criminal Code articles, including those under which Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev were convicted.

12:29 16.05.2013

Duma passes bill on airline access for the disabled

The State Duma on Wednesday adopted a bill that ensures people with disabilities unimpeded access to air services. The bill was adopted in the third reading.

11:23 16.05.2013

Draft law on Russian judiciary good, but could be better – opinion

According to a review of Russia’s Draft Law Amending the Law on the Status of Judges released by the international Rule of Law NGO International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), while some amendments will serve to improve the matters for the Russian judiciary, more comprehensive legislative reform is necessary.

09:53 15.05.2013

Legislator calls for liability for providing property to be used as drug dens

Federation Council member Anatoly Lyskov has proposed introducing criminal liability not only for organizing drug dens, but also for systematically providing premises to be used for these purposes. Lyskov submitted a bill to the State Duma on Tuesday to amend the Criminal Code.

12:54 14.05.2013

Medvedev fast tracks Putin's luxury tax

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has decided to introduce the new luxury tax sponsored by President Vladimir Putin two weeks earlier than planned. During the president's Q&A session with the public three weeks ago, Putin said that the tax should be introduced by November 1, and called it a matter of social justice.

11:56 14.05.2013

Xenophobes may be prohibited from holding official positions

The Regional Development Ministry has proposed prohibiting people who make xenophobic statements from holding official positions.

12:25 13.05.2013

The US State Department’s War Crimes Rewards Program takes on a new life

US President Barrack Obama signed off on a law last January offering millions of dollars in rewards for information leading to the arrest, capture, or transfer of certain fugitives, such as those sought for certain horrendous large-scale crimes by international, mixed, and hybrid tribunals, including “new mixed courts that may be established in places such as the Democratic Republic of Congo or for Syria.”

16:28 10.05.2013

Russia raises fines for poaching tenfold

President Vladimir Putin has signed a law raising fines for poaching tenfold. The document was posted on the government's official legal information website on Wednesday.

15:42 08.05.2013

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