CoE Concerned with Russia’s Failure to Pay to Deportation Victims

During its 1377bis meeting on September 1-3, the European Council Committee of Ministers assessed the execution of the European Court’s judgment on the deportation of Georgian citizens from the Russian Federation in 2006. 

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in January 2019 that the Russian Federation has to pay 10 million Euros in compensation for damages related to mass deportation of Georgian nationals – a group of at least 1,500 – from Russia in 2006.

Noting that the deadline for payment expired on 30 April 2019, the Committee of Ministers expressed concern that no payment has yet been made and underlined that “there is an unconditional obligation under Article 46, Paragraph 1 of the Convention to pay the just satisfaction awarded by the Court.”

The Committee noted with “deep regret that the Russian authorities were unable to enter into detailed in person consultations with the Secretariat on the modalities for payment, as urged at the last examination,” adding that additional penalty fees will be assigned for failure to meet the compensation obligations in a timely manner.

To avoid any further delay, the Committee “strongly urged” Russian authorities to conduct detailed consultations with the Secretariat on the payment before the Committee’s next examination.

Despite opposition from the Russian Federation, that sought to conduct the next round of debates in December, the Committee satisfied Georgia’s request to resume consideration of the matter at the 1383rd meeting before the end of September.

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