Interim Resolution CM/ ResDH (2020)368

Execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

Georgia v. Russia (I)

(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 3 December 2020

at the 1390 th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)

Application

Case

Judgments of

Final on

13255/07

GEORGIA v. RUSSIA (I)

03/07/2014

31/01/2019

Grand Chamber

The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which provides that the Committee supervises the execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” and “the Court”);

Recalling that in its principal judgment the Court found that a coordinated policy of arresting, detaining and expelling large numbers of Georgian nationals, amounting to an administrative practice, had been implemented in the Russian Federation from October 2006 until the end of January 2007 in violation of Article 4 of Protocol No. 4, Articles 5 § 1, 5 § 4 and 3 of the Convention and Article 13 in conjunction with Articles 3 and 5 § 1; recalling further that the European Court found a violation of Article 38;

Recalling also that in its judgment on just satisfaction, of 31 January 2019, the Court held that the respondent State is to pay the applicant government, within three months, EUR 10,000,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage suffered by a group of at least 1,500 Georgian nationals , and that the applicant government is to set up an effective mechanism for the distribution of the just satisfaction sums to the individual victims of the violations found in the principal judgment while having regard to the indications given by the Court and excluding individuals who cannot be classified as victims; recalling further that the mechanism must be put in place under the supervision of the Committee of Ministers and in accordance with any practical arrangements determined by it in order to facilitate execution and that the distribution must be carried out within 18 months of the date of the payment or within any other time-limit considered appropriate by the Committee of Ministers;

Recalling also that the deadline for payment expired on 30 April 2019;

Recalling its previous decisions in this case;

EXPRESSED PROFOUND CONCERN that the just satisfaction awarded by the Court has not yet been paid;

REITERATED its insistence on the unconditional obligation under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention to pay the just satisfaction awarded by the Court;

NOTED WITH INTEREST the consultations between the Secretariat and the Russian authorities , as well as those with the Georgian authorities, on the invitation of the Secretariat, which have taken place since its last examination and are ongoing;

NOTED the position of the Russian authorities concerning the need to identify the individual victims, the violations suffered and the sums due to them before the just satisfaction can be distributed by the applicant government;

STRONGLY URGED the Russian authorities to finalise the consultations without further delay in order to either directly pay the just satisfaction, together with the default interest accrued, to the applicant Government or to commit to using the Council of Europe as an intermediary for that payment;

DECIDED TO RESUME CONSIDERATION of this case at their 1398 th meeting (March 2021) (DH) on the basis of information to be submitted by the Russian authorities on the concrete progress made to execute the judgment by 1 February 2021;

FURTHER DECIDED, in the absence of such concrete progress by 1 February 2021, to consider at that meeting the possible means at its disposal to achieve progress in the full execution of the judgment .