The European Court of Human Rights is holding a Grand Chamber1 hearing today Wednesday 13 December 2023 at 9.15 a.m. in the case of Ukraine v. Russia (re Crimea) (applications nos. 20958/14 and 38334/18).
The case concerns Ukraine’s allegations of a pattern (“administrative practice”) of violations of the European Convention on Human Rights by the Russian Federation in Crimea beginning in February 2014. It also concerns the transfer of Ukrainian “convicts” to the territory of Russia and allegations of persecution of Ukrainian “political prisoners”.
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Ukraine has four inter-State cases pending against Russia, including one jointly with the Netherlands, and over 7,400 individual applications are pending before the Court concerning the events in Crimea, eastern Ukraine and the Sea of Azov, as well as Russia’s military operations on the territory of Ukraine since 24 February 2022.
Procedure and complaints 
This inter-State case originates in three applications lodged on 13 March 2014, 26 August 2015 and 10 August 2018, respectively. The two applications lodged in 2014 and 2015 were joined in 2018
under application 20958/14.
The Ukrainian Government maintains that Russia has, from 27 February 2014, exercised effective control over the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (the ARC) and the City of Sevastopol, integral parts of Ukraine, owing to its military presence in Crimea and its support of both the local government and paramilitary forces. They allege that since that time Russia has exercised extraterritorial jurisdiction over a situation which has resulted in a pattern (“administrative practice”) of human-rights violations.