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The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, today promulgated a law that will guarantee his immunity when he leaves the Russian Presidency (Kremlin) and that makes any legal process against him as a former head of state almost impossible.
From now on, and according to the diploma that was an initiative of the Putin party (United Russia), former Russian presidents cannot be prosecuted, administratively or criminally, nor can they be detained, arrested, registered or interrogated.
To date, a former Russian head of state has enjoyed immunity only for acts committed during his presidential term or for acts related to the exercise of his office.
He was not protected from criminal or administrative proceedings related to previous or subsequent situations.
Currently, this new law will only benefit Putin and his predecessor, Dmitri Medvedev, who served as president between 2008 and 2012.
In light of the new diploma, a former president can only be deprived of immunity by the Senate on the basis of a charge of high treason brought by the Duma (lower house of the Russian Parliament) or for the practice of a serious crime, which must be corroborated by the Supreme Court of Russia.
An accusation against a former president must be supported by two-thirds of the members of the upper and lower houses of the Russian Parliament, at the proposal of at least a third of the deputies of the Duma.
The Senate will have three months to make a decision.
If the time limit is exceeded, the charge is considered rejected.
Previously, a former president could have been deprived of immunity if the Russian Investigative Committee initiated criminal proceedings for a serious crime committed while in office. Later, the ex-president would be sanctioned by both houses of the Russian Parliament.
The new rules will be included in the new Russian constitution that was approved in a referendum on July 1.
The previous procedure on the immunity of former heads of state was contained in a federal law that covered former governors, as well as their families.
Supported by the majority of Russians, the constitutional amendments analyzed in the July referendum allow Vladimir Putin to remain in the Kremlin after 2024, the year in which his current six-year term ends, and to remain in power until 2036, granting him the right to run for reelection.
Putin, who will turn 83 in 2036, has been ahead of Russia’s destinies since 2000, having served as president four times.
Between 2008 and 2012 he held the post of prime minister, thus avoiding violating the law, which allowed only two consecutive terms, having been replaced by Dmitri Medvedev, considered his political protégé.
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