Georgia demands €70 million compensation from Russia

Georgia is demanding €70.3 million from Russia as compensation for moral damages relating to a case in 2006 when a number of violations of Georgians’ rights took place in Russia.

Georgia’s Justice Ministry presented a corresponding document to the Strasbourg Court on July 2.

The document was based on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) earlier decision on the Georgia vs. Russia case, where the Court confirmed a number of Georgians’ rights had been violated in the autumn of 2006 in Russia.

Back then the ECHR confirmed administrative measures taken by Russia in 2006 resulted in expulsion of 4,634 Georgians from Russia to Georgia, which had been a breach of the European Convention.

The Court also indicated that 2,380 Georgians had been illegally detained and expelled from Russia breaching the same Convention, while three of those detained Georgians died in custody.

The Court also found that the victims of the indicated violations did not have access to effective legal defence means.

The Justice Ministries of Georgia and Russia were given 12 months to define the amount of compensation to be paid, and in case of disagreement, the parties were ordered to submit written statements regarding this issue.

On September 3, 2014, the Georgian side addressed the Strasbourg Court and asked for assistance in launching talks with the Russian Ministry of Justice in Strasbourg. In response, the Georgian Government was notified that involvement of the Court in the negotiation process would be appropriate later, after the parties presented their positions on providing compensation.

Georgia's Justice Ministry has not received any documentation on this matter from the Russian side.

"Consequently, in accordance with the ECHR instructions and impossibility of negotiations with the Russian side, the Georgian Justice Ministry filed its written statement on the compensation claim,” the Georgian side said on July 2.

Georgia demanded €70,320,000 from the government of Russia as compensation for moral damages. The amount of compensation was based on the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights on similar cases.

The Strasbourg Court will now discuss and determine following procedures and further steps to be taken by both parties.