The European Court of Human Rights has found Russia guilty in a major interstate case combining complaints from Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia regarding numerous human rights violations during the war before and after February 24, 2022, and the downing of flight MH17. The court’s decision was announced on July 9.
The Russian side was absent during the announcement of the decision, as it had been during previous hearings. The case combines four interstate complaints against Russia brought before the ECHR by Ukraine and the Netherlands:
- Ukraine v. Russia (No. 8019/16)—violations during the armed conflict in Donbas, including the downing of MH17, torture, forced labor, and others;
- Ukraine v. Russia (No. 43800/14)—the abduction and illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation in 2014;
- The Netherlands v. Russia (No. 28525/20)—circumstances and consequences of the downing of flight MH17;
- Ukraine v. Russia (No. 11055/22)—gross human rights violations during the full-scale invasion since February 24, 2022.
The Court unanimously recognized that it had jurisdiction over the complaints concerning events that took place before September 16, 2022, when Russia’s membership in the Council of Europe was suspended.
The Court noted that the events in Ukraine are unprecedented in the history of the Council of Europe.
“The nature and scale of the hostilities and the ominous statements (by Russia) regarding Ukrainian statehood, independence, and the very right to exist pose a threat to peaceful coexistence in Europe, which has long been taken for granted,” the Court said in its conclusions, noting that similar rhetoric is also occasionally directed at Poland, Moldova, and the Baltic states.
The Court noted that its task was not to assess the legality of the Russian invasion and occupation but to assess the compliance of Russia’s actions with the fundamental principles set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and its protocols.
The court found the Russian Federation responsible for numerous human rights violations that took place in the occupied territories before and after February 24, 2022, and their massive and systematic nature.
These include arbitrary killings of civilians and prisoners of war, deprivation of liberty, inhuman treatment, torture, systematic suppression of Ukrainian identity, including through the education system, the practice of “filtration,” the removal of Ukrainian children and adult civilians deep into the occupied territories or to the territory of the Russian Federation, etc.
The court found Russia responsible for its conduct of hostilities from May 11, 2014, to September 16, 2022, and determined that it violated Articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR and Article 1 of Protocol 1; additionally, after February 24, it also violated Article 8 of the ECHR.
The court also found that flight MH17 over Donbas was shot down by a Russian Buk air defense system and that Russia was responsible for making this possible. The court found violations of Articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR in this context.
The ECHR stated that Russia must immediately release and safely return all persons deprived of their liberty in the occupied territories and that Russia must agree to the creation of an independent international mechanism for identifying children who have been taken to the Russian Federation and the occupied territories to reunite them with their families or legal guardians.
Ukrainian judge at the ECHR Mykola Gnativsky noted that this is probably the largest and most important case in the history of the ECHR.
This case is unprecedented: 26 states and one international organization have joined it as third parties.
In 2023, the ECHR recognized the date of the beginning of Russian control over the occupied Donbas—May 11, 2014, became the starting point.
The Kremlin considers the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands vs. Russia to be worthless. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as quoted by RBC.
He noted that Russia does not intend to comply with the ECHR’s decisions. “We are not going to comply. We consider them worthless. That’s all I can say,” Peskov said.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice called the long-awaited ECHR decision unprecedented. This was stated by Margarita Sokorenko, the ministry’s representative for ECHR affairs.
Sokorenko noted that the Court pointed out the unprecedented nature of the events to which the case relates, that Russia seeks to destroy Ukraine as a state and does not recognize its right to exist, and that the case is incompatible with the principles of the Council of Europe.
