The Ukrainian public figures outraged about the Russian Crimea once again

The Ukrainian public figures went to courts demanding that the foreign passports issued by Russia be banned in the territory of their country. An error, which the Federal Migration Service of Russia committed when issuing an identity document, was the cause for this. Evgeny Zhilin, Managing Partner of the Law Firm "YUST", commented for the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper on whether that event is an element of a diplomatic war: "The international law utilizes the basic principle of acknowledging by the states of the validity of the travel documents issued by other states. This is a common provision of the international law, and in this context, contestation of the validity of the travel documents issued under the laws of the issuing state and not under the laws of the state the person is visiting is legal nonsense".

"There is no doubt that the receiving state may refuse entry into its territory if there are sufficient reasons, but it cannot judicially rule invalid a passport issued by another state, - says Evgeny Zhilin.

“Of course one cannot exclude errors in the issued documents (in particular, in the date and place of birth), but such errors should not be reasons to violate the citizens’ rights. This is simply against the principles of international law in the sphere of human rights".

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