The Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament, approved Wednesday a bill that would move the Constitutional Court's seat to St. Petersburg from Moscow, ITAR-TASS reported.

The upper house, which rejected the bill in December 2006, passed it Wednesday after amendments demanded by the Federation Council were introduced, said Yury Sharandin, chairman of the upper house's constitutional law committee, as cited by ITAR-TASS.

In particular, the clause forbidding the Constitutional Court from holding sessions outside St. Petersburg was removed, Sharandin said.

Russian officials have put forward proposals to move many governmental bodies to St. Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin's hometown. A number of major companies have also recently moved their headquarters or registration to Russia's former imperial capital.

The Constitutional Court deals with issues of constitutional law in Russia. It rules on whether or not laws and regulations comply with Russia's Constitution. In addition to the Constitutional Court, Russia has the Supreme Court, which is the final instance in administrative, civil and criminal law cases, and the Supreme Arbitration Court, the court of last resort in commercial disputes.

News source: prime-tass.com
Print this news