Ukraine Files First Round of Submissions With European Court of Human Rights Against Russian Federation
Ukraine, through its Ministry of Justice, has today filed with the European Court of Human Rights the first part of its substantive submissions concerning the multitude of violations of the European Convention of Human Rights that have resulted from Russia’s illegal invasion of the sovereign territory of Ukraine from 24 February 2022 onwards. This filing addresses Russia’s Convention violations over the period from the onset of its invasion until the effective withdrawal of Russian ground forces from around Kyiv and other cities in northern Ukraine on 7 April 2022. Russia’s violations in the period thereafter will be addressed by Ukraine in subsequent filings.
Russia launched its latest military aggression against Ukraine with the express purpose of overthrowing the democratically elected Government of Ukraine and destroying Ukraine’s sovereignty. Russia has caused – and is continuing to cause – loss of life, injury and trauma, population displacement and damage to property on a scale not seen in the continent of Europe since the Second World War.
Russia’s conduct has embraced both targeted and indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks against civilians and their property across Ukraine in breach of all applicable norms of international law. These attacks have been and continue to be carried out by Russian military forces and/or separatist or other irregular paramilitary forces under their control. In the course of these attacks, tens of thousands of civilians have been injured, killed, detained or remain missing, hundreds of thousands have had their property or homes destroyed, millions of individuals have been internally displaced or forced to leave Ukraine and thousands of corporate entities have had their businesses and property destroyed.
Ukraine’s application seeks an end to the military aggression launched by Russia and full redress on behalf, and for the benefit, of all individual victims of Russia’s conduct, embracing all natural and legal persons affected. In due course, the Court will be invited to find that Russia has been guilty of the most flagrant, serious and sustained violations of the Convention ever placed before the Court, and to award just satisfaction on an equally unprecedented scale. The compensation to be pursued in respect of Russia’s violations during this first period of its illegal invasion will amount to at least US$ 80 billion.
Quinn Emanuel expresses its appreciation to Ukraine, for entrusting it with the conduct of this momentous claim, and to the individual barrister teams led by Timothy Otty QC and Guglielmo Verdirame QC, as well as the team at Asters law firm, for their excellent and unstinting support.