Lithuania prohibits entry of Russian judges into the country
Kęstutis Vaškelevičius, the Press Secretary of Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, said during an interview with Deutsche Welle on December 6 that Lithuania decided to prohibit entry into the country of all judges from the Russian Federation’s Constitutional Court. The reason for this decision was their formalization of a number of decisions on Russia’s annexation of the Crimea, Deutsche Welle reported.
According to Vaškelevičius, Russian judges were informed of this decision in November although they never appealed it. Vaškelevičius added that Lithuanian authorities also informed other European countries of its decision.
Earlier, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, Valery Zorkin, complained to the President about Lithuania’s refusal to allow judges to enter the country to participate in the World Conference of Courts.
Zorkin said that Lithuanian authorities stated in a diplomatic message that judges of the Constitutional Court pose a threat to security of the Republic of Lithuania. In response, Putin called the Lithuania’s decision ridiculous, Interfax reported.
On March 18, Vladimir Putin signed an agreement with Crimean leaders to admit Crimea and Sevastopol as new entities of Russia. On March 19, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation approved the signing of the agreement. The international community recognized none of these actions and stated that they were illegitimate and that they violated international law.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague called the annexation of the Crimea by Russia an international armed conflict and the situation on the peninsula an ongoing occupation.