Judge of the Constitutional Court of Russia Konstantin Aranovsky retired ahead of schedule, the press service of the court said . Aranovsky is known for often disagreeing with the decisions of the Constitutional Court, for example, he opposed the restriction for foreigners to own Russian media and spoke about censorship in Russia.
“The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation considered the personal application of the judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation Konstantin Aranovsky on his resignation before he reaches the age limit for holding the relevant position and satisfied it,” the report says.
The court did not name the reasons for his dismissal.
Konstantin Aranovsky was appointed as a judge of the Constitutional Court in 2010 – on the proposal of Dmitry Medvedev, who then held the post of President of Russia. He published so-called dissenting opinions – statements in which he spoke about his personal position on court cases. In them, he often disagreed with his colleagues.
So, in 2019, he spoke out against restricting the participation of foreigners in the Russian media – he called it a sign of censorship. Aranovsky wrote that the measure needed to be corrected: in his opinion, freedom of speech should not be limited "even in favor of high citizenship and culture."
In 2020, he stated that Russia cannot be called the legal successor of the USSR, his dissenting opinion related to the ruling on the case of compensation for housing taken away during Soviet repressions. Russia, according to him, does not “continue with itself in law, but replaces on its territory a state that was once illegally created” and must reckon with the “repressive and terrorist acts” of the Soviet government: “The Russian state was recreated against the totalitarian regime and instead of it.” According to Aranovsky, the state should compensate for the harm caused to citizens by the Soviet government, "with faith in the truth, out of positive responsibility and mercy."
President Vladimir Putin then signed a law barring Constitutional Court judges from publishing dissenting opinions. State Duma deputy Pavel Krasheninnikov, commenting on the bill, said that "ideological discussions" in the Constitutional Court are inappropriate. Senator Andrei Klishas argued that criticism of the court's decisions in dissenting opinions is "aimed at undermining the authority of the judiciary".
In 2010, Anatoly Kononov left the Constitutional Court ahead of schedule, after which judges left their positions only upon reaching the age limit – this is 70 years.
In the near future, the court should “check the constitutionality” of international treaties on the admission of the so-called DNR, LNR, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, occupied by the Russian military, into the Russian Federation. “Referendums” in them end on September 27.
