August War-Related Georgia v. Russia Case Heard at ECHR
Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 22 Sep.'11 / 11:50
  • This is second inter-state case filed by Georgia against Russia at ECHR;
  • Apart of this, up to 2,000 war-related individual applications are pending;


Apart of the Georgia v. Russia inter-state case, up to 2,000 individual applications originating from the August, 2008 war are pending in the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights with most of them against Georgia.

European Court of Human Rights holds a hearing on September 22 into inter-state application lodged by Georgia against Russia in connection to the August, 2008 war.

Georgia appealed the Strasbourg-based court on August 11, 2008, a day before the ceasefire agreement was signed with Russia and the final, formal inter-state application was filed in February, 2009 alleging that Russian military forces and separatist forces under their control carried out indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks against civilians and their property in breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Georgia accuses Russia of breaching eight clauses of the European Convention on Human Rights, involving right to life; prohibition of torture and of inhuman or degrading treatment; right to liberty and security; right to respect for private and family life; right to an effective remedy; protection of property; right to education and freedom of movement.

Russia dismisses allegations as unjustified and not confirmed by “admissible evidence”. Russia claims that its military forces did not launch attacks but defended the civilian population of South Ossetia against Georgian offensive.

The Strasbourg-based court has to decide whether the Georgia’s August war-related case is admissible or not to be heard on merits.

Apart of this August war-related inter-state case, the Strasbourg-based court has received a large number of individual applications in connection to the same war.

According to the court 1,712 individual applications are currently pending against Georgia. Further 208 individual applications, involving more than 900 applicants, have been lodged against Russia and in addition, 20 individual applications are pending against both Georgia and Russia.

Georgia also has a separate inter-state application against Russia filed to the European Court of Human Rights.

The first case, filed in 2007 in connection to deportation of hundreds of ethnic Georgians by Russia following a spy row between the two countries, has already been found by ECHR as admissible and the case is currently under deliberation by the court on its merits.

In December, 2010 the European Court of Human Rights decided to to strike out 1,549 applications, lodged against Georgia, after the court had failed to receive requested response from lawyers of the applicants.

Georgia had a separate application lodged before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Russia related to the August war. ICJ ruled in April that it had no jurisdiction to hear the case on merits, citing that not all the remedies to address the dispute were exhausted before referring the case directly to ICJ.

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