The Council of Europe Convention on the Counterfeiting of Medical Products and Similar Crimes Involving Threats to Public Health was signed by Russia on 28 October 2011 in Moscow. The ratification of the Convention will help bolster interstate mechanisms of protecting the population from risks posed by counterfeit drugs and medical products.
Reference
Submitted by the Russian Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Healthcare.
The Council of Europe Convention on the Counterfeiting of Medical Products and Similar Crimes Involving Threats to Public Health (hereinafter referred to as the “Convention”) was signed on behalf of the Russian Federation on 28 October 2011 in Moscow in accordance with the President’s Executive Order No 712-rp of 27 October 2011. As of today, the Convention has been signed by 27 countries and ratified by Spain, Hungary, Moldova, Guinea, Armenia, Albania, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Turkey and Ukraine. The Convention came into effect on 1 January 2016.
The Convention stipulates, in part:
- criminal prosecution for counterfeiting medical products and similar crimes, including production, storage and sale of such products, as well as the counterfeiting of corresponding documents and packaging;
- protection of the rights of victims of such offences;
- development of cooperation in combating counterfeit medical products at the state and international levels.
As part of the preparations for ratification, amendments were made to Russian legislation in order to rapidly detect and remove from circulation counterfeit pharmaceuticals and medical products, and to prevent and combat offences in this area.
The signed resolution formalises the decision to present the Convention to the President of Russia in order for it to be submitted to the State Duma for ratification.
Ratification of the Convention will help bolster interstate mechanisms of protecting the population from risks posed by counterfeit medicines and medical products.