ECtHR to begin hearing Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia case today
In Strasbourg today, January 26, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) will begin a hearing on the admissibility of the intergovernmental case "Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia."
According to Ukrinform, the hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:15 a.m. local time.
Ukraine will be represented by representatives of the Ministry of Justice, together with legal advisers. The delegation is headed by the Minister of Justice of Ukraine Denys Maliuska.
Five lawyers and about 10 relatives of the victims of flight MH17 also came to the Strasbourg hearing in the ECtHR from the Netherlands.
It should be noted that in July 2020, the Kingdom of the Netherlands filed an interstate lawsuit against the Russian Federation in the European Court of Justice regarding the downing of a passenger plane of MH17 flight in July 2014 and the death of 298 people. The Government of Ukraine has expressed its desire to join this intergovernmental statement as a third party.
On November 27, 2020, the European Court announced the merging of the following three interstate cases into one case "Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia" under applications Nos. 8019/16, 43800/14, 28525/20:
– "Ukraine v. Russia (concerning eastern Ukraine)" under application No. 8019/16, which concerns mass and systematic human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions;
– "Ukraine v. Russia" under application No. 43800/14 concerning the abduction and attempted illegal removal of orphans from Donetsk and Luhansk regions to the territory of the Russian Federation in 2014;
– "Netherlands v. Russia" under application No. 28525/20 concerning the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17 flight.
The Dutch government is complaining about the events surrounding the downing of MH17. The Ukrainian statement on the events in eastern Ukraine is broader, and the Government of Ukraine also complains about the downing of a passenger plane.
That is why the interstate affairs of Ukraine and the Netherlands are connected.
The hearing will take place in the court building in Strasbourg.
The meeting is open, but there are appropriate quarantine measures: special seating of delegations, staying in the premises of the European Court only in protective masks.
The European Court of Justice doesn't broadcast the hearings live, but a video of the hearings on the admissibility of the intergovernmental case Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia will be published today on the European Court's website after the hearing.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has reportedly postponed the hearing in Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia from 24 November 2021 to 26 January 2022.
The appointment of another date is connected with the removal of the special judge appointed in this case.
On 8 November 2021, an ad hoc judge appointed in accordance with Rule 29 §1(a) of the Rules of Court of the Russian Federation informed the court that he had refused to sit in the case, which took effect immediately.
The President of the Grand Chamber has begun searching for another relevant ad hoc judge to take part in the hearing scheduled for 24 November 2021.
On November 12, 2021, it became clear that the search was unsuccessful, so the postponement of the hearing became inevitable.
