Kirill Vozisov made a comment for RIA PrimaMedia on legal status of in-home checks of citizens by local police officers

According to Kirill Vozisov, a partner of the CJSC Law Company Inmar Legal Ltd, if those measures are applied in real life, first of all it is necessary to clear up the issues of information obtaining, using and keeping it confidential.

“The main problem here is in conflict of two standpoints stated by the Russian Federation Constitution on a testing basis: public order protection and public security provision (art. 55 of the Constitution), as well as citizens’ right for sanctity of their private, personal and family life and home integrity (art. 23 -25 of the Russian Federation Constitution). This problem arises despite government actions, even in the most developed countries”, as Vozisov noted.

The lawyers also remembered about the case, when a group of citizens had made an appeal on the cl.7.3 of the Regulations of Local Militia Officer’s Proceedings on obtaining information mentioned earlier (approved by the Order №900 of the Russian Federation Ministry of Internal Affairs as of 16.09.2002) first to the Supreme Court, than to the Constitutional Court. Then citizens’s claims were denied, but the Court noted that militia had a right to obtain necessary explanations and data from citizens, though it was not entitled in collecting, keeping, using and distributing information about individual’s private life without his or her consent, excluding cases, prescribed by the Federal Law.

Also citizens have a right simply deny an access into their house for a local officer, or tell only selected information if they allowed him in.  

Source: PrimaMedia.ru