MOSCOW, July 11 (RAPSI) - The European Court of Human Rights has informed Russia that limits on debtors' travel abroad must be substantiated and has fined Russia 2,000 euros in moral damages for restricting the free movement of an applicant, the court said on its website.

In 2003, Moscow resident Vyacheslav Khlyustov, b. 1962, was ordered by a court to pay back an amount of money loaned to him by another person for the construction of a house. During the proceedings to enforce the judgment, between November 2003 and May 2005, the bailiffs' service imposed a series of six-month travel bans on Khlyustov for his failure to pay the debt, prohibiting him from leaving Russia.

Khlyustov has complained to the court that the travel bans violated his rights under Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 (freedom of movement) to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. He claims that the decisions of the bailiff service were arbitrary, as they had no basis in Russian law at the time, did not pursue any legitimate aim and were not necessary in a democratic society.

However, the ECHR explained that Clause 5 of Article 15 of the law on the procedure for the exit from and entry to Russia stipulates travel bans for failure to honor court rulings. The court concluded that Russian authorities did not violate the above convention and that corresponding laws had been published and were available to the public.

At the same time, the court pointed out that the bailiffs' documents did not specify the reasons for prohibiting Khlyustov from leaving Russia or explain how that decision could ensure debt repayment. Moreover, repeated use of the same phrases in the bailiffs' instructions and orders shows that the ban was extended without proper consideration of possible changes in the situation, but simply on the grounds that the debt had not been paid, the court said.

The ECHR also ruled that Russia must pay Khlyustov 500 euros in legal costs.

The court dismissed the other parts of his complaint.

On July 10, the upper house of Russia's parliament approved a bill allowing debtors to travel abroad if their unsettled fines, taxes and other obligatory payments do not exceed 10,000 rubles ($304) in total.