Is the Constitutional Court the last bastion in Russia against the threat of authoritarianism?

Author: Baudoin Marie-Elisabeth  

Publisher: Routledge Ltd

ISSN: 1465-3427

Source: Europe-Asia Studies, Vol.58, Iss.5, 2006-07, pp. : 679-699

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Abstract

Within the framework of the 1993 constitution, and in a political context deprived of stable parties, can the Russian Constitutional Court be strong enough to rebuild a balanced constitutional system? The early days of the Constitutional Court were deeply marked by the tumultuous political situation of the early post-Soviet period. The Court had to show self-restraint in order to avoid any further politicisation and is still not able to directly sanction presidential legal acts. But case law also reveals a progressive evolution of its means of action. The Court has adapted methods of control and is participating in the stabilisation and democratisation of the new state.