The Plenary Session clarified an important issue: whether Russian courts may follow the holdings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The Decree says that such holdings of the ECHR should be “taken into account” by Russian courts as long as the circumstances of the case are analogous to the ones which were the subject of analysis and conclusions of the European Court (para 2). Besides, when determining the amount of compensation for moral harm courts may take as an example the amounts awarded by the ECHR for analogous violations (para 9).

An English translation of the full text of the Decree may be downloaded here.