The Application by National Courts of International Treaties of the Russian Federation

 The article is devoted to the actual problem of the application of international treaties by Russian courts in the settlement of disputes. The legal positions of the judiciary, formed taking into account the norms  of international treaties, affect the content of national legislation. The subject of the research in this article is the norms of national and international law, which serve as the legal basis for the application of international treaties at the domestic level. The article deals with the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal legislation, in accordance with which the process of applying international legal acts in national courts is implemented. Practical experience is summarized by analyzing the actual  judicial practice, including the practice of arbitration courts. The Author  identifies and describes the characteristic features of Russian legislation 
and law enforcement practice aimed at the mandatory application of international norms in the courts of Russia. The article analyzes the implementation of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights in national judicial practice. The Author notes that in the Russian Federation, the consolidation of international standards, including European ones, is possible thanks to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as other norms of domestic law. The special attention is paid to the decisions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which contain instructions for judges on the application of international treaties of  the Russian Federation. There is a tendency to increase the use of international legal norms in the process of consideration of cases of various categories by judicial bodies, primarily the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. On the basis of the conducted research, the Author makes the conclusion about the mandatory application of international treaties of the Russian Federation for the effective and fair administration of justice and the need for uniform application of the norms of international law in practice, including by the highest judicial authorities. The legal positions of these courts reflect the obligation of the state,  represented by authorities, officials, and all law enforcement agencies, to comply with and apply international treaties of the Russian Federation.  

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