MOSCOW, March 21 (RAPSI) – Russian Health Minister Veronica Skvortsova has presented the Council of Europe’s Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland a document on ratification of the Convention on the counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes involving threats to public health.

According to the press-release of the Council, the Convention is to come into force in Russia on July 1, 2018.

The Council notes that the “MEDICRIME Convention is the first international criminal law instrument to oblige States Parties to criminalize the manufacturing of counterfeit medical products.”

The Convention also criminalizes supplying and trafficking in counterfeit medical products, prohibits forging of documents and unauthorized manufacturing or supplying of medical products. It also criminalizes placing substandard medical devices on the market.

Russia signed the Convention on October 28, 2011 and became the 10th nation to do so.