Ukrainian judge hails "historic" ECHR ruling against Russia

Mykola Hnatovskyi, a Ukrainian judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), has described the Court's ruling in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia as historic, noting that it is likely the largest and most important case in the Court's history.

Source: Hnatovskyi on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Hnatovskyi stated that the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, which spans about 500 pages not including appendices, is likely to be the biggest and most significant in the ECHR’s history.

Quote: "The true importance of this ruling will be determined by history. There will be plenty of commentary. Today, I only want to thank fate for the opportunity to be part of this Court and to draw attention to the logic the Court followed when assessing specific complaints and interpreting the Convention."

Details: Hnatovskyi noted that the Court had emphasised that Russia's actions in Ukraine are unprecedented in the history of the Council of Europe, and that the nature and scale of the violence, as well as the ominous statements by the Russian leadership regarding Ukraine’s statehood, independence, and even its right to exist, pose a threat to peaceful coexistence in Europe and are aimed at undermining the foundations of democracy upon which the Council of Europe is built.

The Court noted that in none of the previous conflicts it had reviewed had there been such unanimous condemnation from the international community of the respondent state's flagrant disregard for the international legal order established after World War II, nor such clear measures taken by the Council of Europe to sanction that state's contempt for the fundamental values of the organisation.

Quote: "The Court also noted that its task is limited to assessing the compliance of the respondent state’s actions with the fundamental safeguards enshrined in the Convention and its Protocols, which are interpreted with regard to their purpose – to realise the aims and ideals of the Council of Europe by establishing peace based on justice and international cooperation."

Background: On 9 July, the ECHR found Russia guilty of violating multiple articles of the European Convention on Human Rights in a major inter-state case that combined complaints brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands regarding numerous human rights violations before and after 24 February 2022 and the downing of flight MH17.

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