Quasi-Compliance: An Examination of Russia and the European Court of Human Rights

Authors

Abstract

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has been described as the ‘crown jewel’ of international institutions due to its unique influence within Europe.¹ Though its jurisprudence is progressive, it retained the world’s largest territorial jurisdiction for 26 years.² This included authoritarian states such as the Russian Federation, which was a willing participant in the ECtHR from 1998 until 2022. During that time Russia demonstrated ‘quasi-compliance’ to the Court, meaning it typically paid dues and instituted individual ECtHR judgements but refrained from extensive reform de facto. Though the ECtHR by no means transformed Russia’s human rights practices, the state’s quasi-compliance to the Court had a limited yet meaningful impact in areas under Russian law. The Court’s ability to influence authoritarian states such as Russia suggests that the ECtHR model could be effective at the universal as well as regional levels.

Recommended Citation

(2023) "Quasi-Compliance: An Examination of Russia and the European Court of Human Rights," Undergraduate Journal of Global Citizenship: Vol. 5: Iss. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/jogc/vol5/iss1/4