OREANDA-NEWS Russia has adopted the Convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters, according to the website of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Now the decisions of foreign courts will be valid in Russia.

The document does not apply to certain types of disputes: family, in the field of intellectual property, as well as related to customs issues and bankruptcy cases. The convention also gives the right to any signatory country not to apply on its territory the provisions of foreign judicial decisions, if they concern disputed territories.

In order for the convention to finally enter into force in any country, it must be ratified. After that, the decisions of the courts of all countries participating in the Hague Conference will become binding for execution in Russia. This is the majority of countries in the world, with the exception of many countries in Africa, Central Asia, as well as Colombia, Bolivia and Guyana.

Until today, Russia has been in similar agreements within the framework of the CIS and the former USSR (with the exception of the Baltic countries). In addition, there were 28 bilateral treaties, but they were not concluded with the leading economies of the world. In 2015, the Constitutional Court recognized the right of Russian courts not to execute decisions of international bodies and instances in cases when they contradict the Russian Constitution.