He pointed out that the report on the situation surrounding YUKOS will be discussed at the PACE January session, and that Russia had presented all necessary materials during the preparation of this document. However, according to the deputy, “they have not been fully reflected in the document.” The report contains references to lawyers and non-governmental organizations only, Mr. Kosachev said.

Due to the fact that the content of the main YUKOS report “has disappointed Russia’s delegation,” Russia is preparing a “dissenting opinion,” the deputy declared. According to Kosachev, Russia has already used such a policy with PACE, whilst discussing the situation in Chechnya. Russia was expecting a more balanced assessment of the YUKOS case, Mr. Kosachev pointed out.

Meanwhile, the draft resolution that will be considered at the PACE session says that “The Parliamentary Assembly, reaffirming its commitment to the Rule of Law as one of the Council of Europe’s core values, is concerned by the shortcomings of the judicial process in the Russian Federation revealed by the cases of several former YUKOS executives.”

The document further underlines “the importance of the independence of the judiciary and of the independent status of judges”, and “regrets that legislative reforms introduced in the Russian Federation in December 2001 and March 2002 have not protected judges better from undue influence from the executive and have even made them more vulnerable. Recent studies and highly publicised cases have shown that the courts are still highly susceptible to undue influences. The Assembly is particularly worried about new proposals to increase further the influence of the President’s administration over the judges’ qualification commission.”

In addition to this, in the draft resolution “The Assembly notes that the circumstances surrounding the arrest and prosecution of the leading YUKOS executives strongly suggest that they are a clear case of non-conformity with the Rule of Law and that these executives were – in violation of the principle of equality before the law – arbitrarily singled out by the authorities.”