Canada, Sweden, Ukraine, and Great Britain file lawsuit against Iran at UN court over UIA plane crash

On July 4, Canada, Sweden, Ukraine, and Great Britain filed a lawsuit against Iran at the International Court of Justice of the United Nations, accusing Tehran of violating the Montreal Convention in connection with the downing of the UIA plane in 2020.

The European Pravda writes about this with reference to the press service of the court and the government's official portal.

It should be noted that the International Court of Justice of the United Nations is the main judicial body of the United Nations.

In their statement, the four states claim that Iran has violated several obligations under the Montreal Convention due to the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 on January 8, 2020, by servicemen of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"Iran has not responded to our request for arbitration to resolve this dispute, addressed to December 28, 2022. As a result, this week in The Hague, we jointly filed a claim with the International Court of Justice of the United Nations, thereby initiating proceedings against Iran in connection with the violation of the Convention on Combating Illegal Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation in 1971," the statement emphasized.

It should be noted that all 176 passengers and crew members who were on board the plane, many of whom were citizens and residents of the applicant states, died in the plane crash.

According to the applicants, Iran "failed to take all possible measures to prevent the illegal and intentional commission of the crime described in Article 1 of the Montreal Convention, including the destruction of flight PS752."

Iran also subsequently failed to conduct an impartial, transparent, and fair criminal investigation in accordance with international law, claimant states claim.

Canada, Sweden, Ukraine, and Great Britain seek to justify the Court's jurisdiction on the basis of Article 36, paragraph 1 of the Court's Statute and Article 14, paragraph 1 of the Montreal Convention, to which all four applicants and Iran are parties.

"The joint action at the International Court of Justice reflects our unwavering commitment to achieving transparency, justice, and accountability for all the families of the victims of Flight PS752," the statement reads.

For reference:

A Ukrainian passenger plane of Ukraine International Airlines flying from Tehran to Kyiv crashed after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot it down on January 8, 2020. This incident happened five days after the United States assassinated Qasem Soleimani and some hours after Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles at allied forces in Iraq. Iranian authorities initially denied the responsibility, however after investigations by different intelligence agencies as well as by the Iranian public, it was revealed that two surface-to-air missiles hit the plane. On the 11th of January 2020, the Iranian government admitted that the Revolutionary Guard had mistakenly identified the plane as an American cruise missile and had targeted it. This announcement sparked a new wave of anti–government protests in Iran, with people calling for the Supreme Leader to be removed from power.

It should be noted that Ukraine, Great Britain, Canada, and Sweden have initiated arbitration proceedings regarding the downing of this passenger plane at the end of December 2022.

As Rubryka wrote, Ukraine and other states whose citizens were killed in the downing of a civilian flight over Tehran in January 2020 are filing a lawsuit against Iran at the UN International Court of Justice.