The justice minister called the priority of human rights over state interests wrong...

The justice minister called the priority of human rights over state interests wrong

At the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko said that the approach that emerged in the early 1990s, under which citizens’ rights and freedoms were considered a priority, was “not entirely correct.”

“We say that the Justice Ministry’s mission consists of a triad, namely: protecting the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, ensuring the rule of law, and third, strengthening statehood. But at the same time, we had approaches that arose from the early 1990s, when our Constitution was being written and people said that citizens’ rights and freedoms were the priority. It seems to me that this is not an entirely correct approach, because one cannot exist without the other. A weak state cannot properly ensure the rights and legitimate interests of citizens,” the minister explained.

According to the minister, without rights and freedoms the state is unlikely to become strong or achieve the rule of law.