Sergei Bakeshin has provided his comments for Kommersant on the introduction of restrictions on movement

The Governor of the Leningrad Region, Alexander Drozdenko, signed an amendment to the decree of the regional government, that requires residents of places with detected cases of coronavirus infection to comply with self-isolation and not leave their town or village. The exceptions are business trips, trips to work and for health reasons. The measures, which follow the instructions of the Chief Medical Officer of the Leningrad region, Olga Istorik, came into force on 2 April.

Maxima Legal’s Senior Associate, Sergei Bakeshin, explained to Kommersant that on 1 April, the country’s president signed a law that gave the federal and regional authorities the power to introduce mandatory rules during a high alert or emergency; this is why the measures introduced by the government of the Leningrad region have now become legal. However, as the expert emphasised, the rules limit human rights and freedoms (for example, freedom of movement) and contradict the Constitution. According to the basic law of the country, the rights and freedoms of individuals can be limited only by federal law, and not by acts of the government and regional authorities. A limited exception to this rule is provided for in emergency conditions. “The frantically adopted anti-coronavirus law gives the authorities the right to introduce any rules without limiting their imagination. Despite this, the Constitutional Court will be able to find arguments justifying the constitutionality of the new law”, concluded Sergei Bakeshin.

To read the article (in Russian), please see the Kommersant website >>>