Communicated on 5 July 2016

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 73776/14 Elena IOPPA against Ukraine and 3 other applications

( see list appended)

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applications concern the events following the incident with the Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight that occurred on 17 July 2014. The applicants are relatives of the deceased incident victims. They are represented before the Court by Mr Elmar Giemulla , a lawyer practicing in Berlin.

The first applicant is Ms Elena Ioppa (application no. 73776/14, lodged on 24 November 2014), a citizen of Germany, born in 1970. She resides in Rheine, Germany. She is the mother of Ms Olga Ioppa , born on 2 December 1991, who was a passenger on the flight MH17 .

The second applicant is Mr Tim Lauschet (a pplication no. 973/15, lodged on 18 December 2014 ). He is German national born in 1991. He resides in Stanhope Gardens, Australia. He is the son of Ms Gabrielle Lauschet , born in 1965, passenger on the flight MH17.

The third applicant is Mr Chris Kenke (application no. 4407/15, lodged on 12 January 2015). He is a German national, born in 1988. He resides in Buxtehude, Germany. He is the son of M r Wil helmus Theorodorus Maria Grootscholten , born in 1960, passenger of the flight MH17.

The fourth applicant is Ms Denise Kenke (a pplication no. 4412/15, lodged on 13 January 2015 ) . She is a German national, born in 1984. She is the daughter of M r Wilhelmus Theorodorus Maria Grootscholten , born in 1960, passenger on the MH17 flight.

The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.

On 17 July 2014, at 13:20 (15:20 C ET), a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 ‑ 200 with registration marks 9M-MRD disappeared to the west of “ Tamak ” air navigation waypoint in Ukraine. The flight was on its way from Amsterdam Schip h ol Airport to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There were 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board of the airplane.

The airplane was under control of the Ukrainian air traffic authority and was operated by a licensed and qualified flight crew. It flew at the allowed height of 33,000 feet (approximately 10,000 metres).

The airplane disintegrated in the airspace and impacted the ground in the eastern part of Ukraine, with the wreckage spread over several sites near the villages of Hrabove , Rozsypne and Petropavlivka . Six wreckage sites were identified, spread over 50 square kilometres overall. All 298 persons on board of the MH17 flight lost their lives.

COMPLAINTS

Relying on Article 2 of the Convention, the applicants claim that the Ukrainian authorities failed to protect the relatives ’ life by not completely closing the airspace above the ongoing armed conflict in the region through which the MH17 flight passed. \* MERGEFORMAT In particular, the applicants complain that failure to close the airspace was intentional, that the authorities knew of the danger of flights above the military conflict zone but undertook no action to close the airspace. The applicants submitted that the Ukrainian authorities ’ intentional failure to close the airspace above the military conflict zone resulted in death of the applicants ’ relatives.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1. Had the applicants exhausted all effective domestic remedies, as required by Article 35 § 1 of the Convention?

In particular, what kind of domestic remedies in Ukraine were available to the applicants?

2. Furthermore, did the applicants invoke before the national authorities, at least in substance, the right under Article 2 on which they now wished to rely before the Court?

APPENDIX:

No

Application No

Lodged on

Applicant

Date of birth

Place of residence

Represented by

73776/14

24/11/2014

Elena IOPPA

18/08/1970

Rheine

Elmar GIEMULLA

973/15

18/12/2014

Tim LAUSCHET

28/02/1991

Stanhope Gardens

Elmar GIEMULLA

4407/15

12/01/2015

Chris KENKE

02/07/1988

Buxtehude

Elmar GIEMULLA

4412/15

13/01/2015

Denise KENKE

10/10/1984

Buxtehude

Elmar GIEMULLA