Kiev asserts that the seizure of Russian property abroad is possible after court ruling
The First Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, Natalia Sevostyanova, stated that the seizure of Russia’s property abroad may become one outcome of Ukraine’s lawsuit against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The law suite was submitted as a result of the events in Crimea and the Donbas in 2014.
“The Court can’t issue a decision, for example, to return Crimea to Ukraine. But it can determine that the rights of citizens and the property rights of the State [Ukraine] were violated. It will establish the amount of the damage that we want to receive. One of our tools is the European Committee of Ministers. Russia will have to report back to the 47 member states of the Council of Europe and explain where and according to what schedule it will implement this decision of the Committee of Ministers. Of course, we have more aggressive tools at hand, such as the seizure of Russia’s property abroad,” Sevostyanova noted at a press conference in Kiev on June 23rd.
The First Deputy Minister of Justice reported that Ukraine has agreements with different countries ensuring the mutual implementation of each country’s court decisions. Therefore, these states will contribute to their implementation.
Ukraine filed a lawsuit in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) following the annexation of Crimea and the conflict in the Donbas. In February 2016, this claim was divided into two parts in the ECHR—the events in Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine are considered separate issues.