Official Communication from the European Court of Human Rights
Kurmanayevskiy et al v Russia (
In May 2014, the ECtHR joined all three cases and formally communicated them to Russia with two substantive questions:
Was there a violation of the applicants’ right to respect for their private life guaranteed by Article 8 of the Convention? In particular:
» Does the absolute ban on drug addiction treatment by substitution therapy using methadone and buprenorphine in the Russian Federation provide for fair balance between the State’s obligation to protect the life and health of the persons under its jurisdiction, by way of regulation of access to narcotic substances, on the one part, and the applicants’ interest in access to the medicines which could help their cure of drug addiction, on the other part
» What were the reasons for absolute ban on substitution therapy treatment method in the Russian Federation?
Were the applicants subjected to discrimination in connection with their health state
in violation of Article 14 of the Convention, taken in conjunction with Article 8 of the Convention, in connection with a ban on drug addiction treatment using methadone and buprenorphine?