Moscow City Court on Tuesday upheld a Justice Ministry decision from last year to deny registration to opposition party Parnas, Interfax reported.
The court cited violations by the party in its registration materials, including the presence of minors, convicted criminals and deceased people on its member list. The Justice Ministry based its original refusal on similar arguments.
The party's lawyer Vladimir Prokhorov said the next step would be to appeal to the presidium of Moscow City Court, then to the European Court of Human Rights, Interfax reported.
Parnas, a coalition party led by veteran opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Ryzhkov and Mikhail Kasyanov, may submit a new application to the Justice Ministry to be registered in April, after changes to the law on political parties are expected to come into force, party secretary Konstantin Merzlikin told Interfax.
President Dmitry Medvedev initiated reforms that include easing the registration requirements for political parties. The new legislation has been fast-tracked in parliament and could be passed before Medvedev's term ends in May.
Ryzhkov's Republican Party, which enters into the Parnas coalition, is expected to be registered after having won appeals at the European Court of Human Rights and the Supreme Court.