Legal and Procedural Issues arising from the Expulsion of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe

On 16 March 2022, the Russian Federation’s membership in the Council of Europe was terminated with immediate effect on account of its aggression against Ukraine. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, to analyze the content of the suspension and expulsion clause in the Council of Europe Statute (Article 8), to put it into context with three other relevant provisions, namely the clause on Member States’ obligations (Article 3), the withdrawal clause (Article 7) and the clause on suspension due to the non-payment of compulsory contributions (Article 9). Second, to argue that the way the Russian Federation was expelled as well as the consequences of its expulsion, raise several legal and procedural issues. Among them, whether it should have been given the opportunity to justify the use of force against Ukraine; whether, as stipulated in Article 8, it should have been requested to voluntarily withdraw before having its membership terminated; which were the effects of the Russian Federation’s announcement that it will withdraw, which was made before it was expelled; and whether the decision that it remains a party to the European Convention on Human Rights until mid-September 2022 was legally sound. The article will also argue that the rule of law, one of the Council of Europe’s cornerstones, has a wider application than a principle to be respected by Member States and forms part of its internal legal order.