It took almost seven years for an attorney to prove that he was searched unlawfully. Don’t count out a prison cell, a begging bowl may come as well – a similar proverb is there in Russian also. But even a practising lawyer should not count out even indirect possibilities to be accused and prosecuted.

In 2003, Alexey Kolesnichenko, an attorney from Perm, became subject to investigation while acting as a defending lawyer in a theft case.

His apartments was searched for a whole night, from 10 PM to 5:30 AM, and among other things, his writing-book with confidential information was withdrawn.

The court rejected the attorney’s claim against the unlawful search violating the attorney-client privilege, and Kolesnichenko applied to the European Court for Human Rights. On April 9, 2009, the European Court stated that Kolesnichenko’s rights had been really violated.

Only on June 2, 2010, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation cancelled the judge’s statement about the search. Kolesnichenko obtained the Supreme Court’s statement text on July 20. Now he plans to contest unlawful actions of local judges.

This is not for the first time that Russian court instances make a decision in favor on a citizen’s rights only after the European Court for Human Rights expresses its position.

There is an alarming trend: Russia is leading in number of claims filed to the European Court against it. Only in 2009, more than 13,000 claims were filed.

From the press service
of the Federal Chamber of Lawyers of the Russian Federation