ECHR Verdict Eases Legal Path to Prosecute Russian Aggression
A recent decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is expected to significantly strengthen international legal proceedings aimed at holding Russia accountable for its ongoing aggression against Ukraine.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Ukrinform.
Speaking to Ukrinform, Margaryta Sokorenko, Ukraine’s Commissioner for ECHR Affairs, said that the July 9 ruling in the high-profile case Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia lays critical groundwork for both the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the planned Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression.
“Whether this ruling will accelerate other proceedings remains uncertain,” Sokorenko noted. “But when it comes to the evidentiary foundation, especially in proving the systemic nature of Russia’s violations, this decision is undeniably a breakthrough. It simplifies the evidentiary process for other judicial institutions.”
The Grand Chamber’s judgment marked a milestone in a case widely regarded as the most extensive inter-state application in the Court’s history.
Combining four separate complaints, including the Netherlands’ case concerning the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, the ruling addresses Russian human rights abuses dating back to 2014 and extending through the full-scale invasion that began in February 2022.
While the ECHR and the forthcoming Special Tribunal operate within distinct legal frameworks, the former adjudicating human rights violations, the latter prosecuting the crime of aggression, Sokorenko emphasized that the Strasbourg ruling could serve as a pivotal reference point for both.
“The legal standards differ, but the ruling provides crucial recognition of a pattern of state-sponsored violations. This acknowledgment by the ECHR can substantively assist in establishing context and state intent in future proceedings,” she said.
Despite the case’s complexity and the scope of the evidence submitted over more than a decade, Sokorenko described the pace of the ECHR ruling as unusually swift by the Court’s standards.
"For Ukrainian citizens who have endured this aggression daily since 2014, a 10-year wait may feel intolerably long. But within the context of the ECHR’s caseload and the scope of the violations involved, this is one of the fastest rulings in its history," she stated.
Sokorenko also underscored the evolving nature of Ukraine’s complaints, which were continually updated as new violations occurred. “From the outset, we were not just documenting isolated incidents, but an entire system of abuses. As those abuses expanded, so did our submissions,” she added.
As The Gaze reported earlier, after more than two years of intense legal and diplomatic work, the Statute of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine has been officially finalized.