THE HAGUE, Netherlands (Chatnewstv.com) — Russia has filed a case at the United Nations’ top court against Australia and the Netherlands, seeking to overturn a ruling that found Moscow responsible for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.
The International Court of Justice said Friday that Russia’s application, lodged a day earlier, challenges a June 30 decision by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council, which ruled that the missile strike over eastern Ukraine violated international aviation law.
Australia and the Netherlands brought the case in 2022, arguing Russia was internationally responsible under the Chicago Convention for the destruction of the Boeing 777, which killed all 298 people on board.
In its filing, Russia said the ICAO Council “erred in fact and in law” and breached “fundamental principles of proper administration of justice.” Moscow argued the Chicago Convention does not apply in situations of armed conflict and said Article 3 bis — which prohibits the use of weapons against civil aircraft — is limited in scope.
Russia also claimed the Council failed to apply the correct standard of proof, ignored evidence supplied by Moscow and relied on “biased, unreliable” and “circumstantial” material presented by Australia and the Netherlands.
Among its requests, Russia asked the court to declare the ICAO decision “null and void and without legal effect.”
The ICAO Council found in June that the shooting down of MH17 with a Russian-supplied Buk missile system “constituted a non-conformity” with Moscow’s obligations under international aviation law.
The case now goes to the International Court of Justice, which settles legal disputes between states. The court, based at the Peace Palace in The Hague, is composed of 15 judges elected for nine-year terms by the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council.
