“The court REJECTED Russia’s objection unanimously”
Why is this case so significant for Ukraine?
1- To have hard facts that Russia is occupying Donbas. With a legal decision of a regional court – not just political statements – recognizing Russia as an aggressor responsible for systemic human rights violations, Ukraine will have a powerful card to play in international negotiations. Moreover, the decision may become grounds for diplomatic pressure on Moscow and new sanctions.
2- To set a date for and borders of Russia occupation. This will set the foundation for future actions of the international community. On 14 January 2021, the ECHR ruled that Russia de facto controlled Crimea, and thus bears responsibility for human rights violations on the peninsula since 27 February 2014. That is, all facts that took place after 27 February are legally null and void. Namely, the illegal referendum from 16 March 2014 in which Crimeans “decided” to accede to Russia.
3- To provide the court with the body of evidence which Ukrainian applicants will refer to when complaining against Russia. If not for this work of Ukrainian lawyers, individuals would not be able to file this evidence.“They do not have access to criminal proceedings, they did not collect evidence on the territory of the Russian Federation, they do not have access to the materials of interviews. We established these facts. And next, based on them, one can bring to the RF both inter-state and individual claims,” says Denys Maliuska.
4- To have Russia compensate the victims of human rights violations.
Russia’s attempts to postpone the decision
According to Denys Maliuska, Russia has not just one time tried to deliberately postpone the court hearing. Initially, the meeting was planned to be held on 24 November 2021. But was postponed under the pretext of Russia’s COVID measures and an inadequately prepared application against Ukraine.
When the court rejected this appeal, on 8 November, the Russian ad hoc judge claimed circumstances that could question his impartiality. Thus, he recused himself. The hearing was then postponed to 26 January 2022.
Russia’s attempts to postpone the decision only prove that this case is significant and that the upcoming decision is unlikely to be in Russia’s favor.
Events leading up to ECHR open hearings, 26 January 2022
Nov 2013 - Feb 2014 - Euromaidan Revolution, Kyiv
27 February 2014 - Russia occupies Crimea
13 March 2014 - Ukraine lodges (1st) complaint to ECHR for human rights crimes in Donbas
16 March 2014 - Russia holds mock referendum for Crimea to accede to Russia
April 2014 - Russia invades Donbas
13 June 2014 - Ukraine lodges (2nd) complaint to ECHR for the abduction of children in Donbas
17 July 2014 - Downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17
10 July 2020 - The Netherlands lodges ECHR complaint for downing of MH17
27 November 2020 - ECHR merges Ukrainian and Dutch complaints
14 January 2021 - ECHR rules that Russia de facto controls Crimea
8 November 2021 - Russian judge recuses himself from ECHR hearings
26 January 2022 - ECHR starts open hearings on admissibility of the case Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia