MOSCOW, May 17 (RAPSI) – The Supreme Court of Russia has upheld the Russian government’s ruling for Crimean drivers to change automobile numbers from Ukrainian to Russian standards, RAPSI learned in the courtroom on Tuesday.

The court has dismissed an appeal filed by Vyacheslav Mulyar who asked the court to rule against Russian government’s decision because of alleged breach of Russian legislation on reunification of Russia and Crimea. He claimed that said law guaranteed legitimacy of certain documents issued by Ukrainian authorities without limitation of their validity and confirmation by the state authorities of the Russian Federation.

The plaintiff has also pointed out that automobiles from Crimea and Sevastopol with Russian registration numbers are still listed in Ukrainian databases. This situation puts Crimean and Sevastopol’s automobile owners at risk of being prosecuted for document forgery when they cross Crimean-Ukrainian border. According to the plaintiff, this results in rights violation for inhabitants of Crimea and Sevastopol.

On February 17, the Supreme Court obligated Crimean drivers to change automobile numbers from Ukrainian to Russian standards.

The Supreme Court took Russian government’s side in a dispute with Crimean drivers who have filed a lawsuit against government after a decree obligating them to change automobile numbers.

Earlier the Crimean drivers used Ukrainian automobile numbers and registration documents.

Russian government obligated all Crimean drivers to change their documents and numbers to Russian standards until April 1, 2016. Plaintiffs, however, have pointed out that according to the Crimean legislation all documents issued by Ukraine are still functional even after Crimean reunion with Russia.