The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is going
to have to deal more and more often with cases involving new kinds of
individual rights, its head has recently admitted. Some of them will be
related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, the official
believes.
Constitutional Court of Russia to Defend Rights Related to Cryptocurrencies
Constitutional justice, as far as protection of human rights is
concerned, will be increasingly influenced by the emergence of a new
generation of rights, Valery Zorkin, chairman of the Constitutional
Court of Russia has acknowledged. These are various rights, including
environmental, reproductive and informational, Zorkin says in an article published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the official government daily.
Having recognized that, the high-ranking representative of the
Russian judiciary notes that in the very near future, the Constitutional
Court will have to consider these new rights of individuals, stemming
from the scientific and technological revolution, when reviewing
complaints filed with the institution.
Life is changing rapidly and new objects of legal regulation are
appearing, Zorkin elaborates, such as “robots, artificial intelligence,
biotechnology, new types of transport, and so on.” The constitutional
judge adds:
Not to mention such things that have already become
commonplace, such as new financial instruments, blockchain (distributed
ledger), cryptocurrencies, and so on.
However, Valery Zorkin also warns that innovation can bring both
benefits and risks. “After all, human nature is such that what was
invented by some to improve people’s lives, others can figure out how to
turn it to evil,” he says.
In Zorkin’s opinion, no one can predict if the losses would be
greater than the gains at a certain point in time. He views the court’s
role as a “universal regulator” tasked to prevent any negative
consequences from these developments while ensuring it’s not hindering
progress.
Zorkin’s comments come at a moment when Russia has only partially
regulated cryptocurrencies and related activities. While providing key
legal definitions in the crypto space, the law “On Digital Financial
Assets,” which entered into force in January of this year, does not
introduce any rules for the circulation of digital coins in the country.
Cryptocurrency mining isn’t properly regulated either, despite mounting calls
from officials to recognize it as an entrepreneurial activity. Aspects
related to the taxation of virtual currency incomes, profits, and
transactions need to be addressed as well.
Last week, the Russian Association of Cryptoeconomics, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain (Racib), the country’s main crypto industry organization, slammed
authorities in Moscow for doing “absolutely nothing” to bring the
sector out of the shadow economy. The criticism comes four years after
President Vladimir Putin mandated
the adoption of legislation tailored to define the legal status of
digital technologies utilized in the financial sector by July 2018.
source link : https://news.bitcoin.com/russias-constitutional-court-expects-to-face-crypto-related-cases/
