Limitation of jurisdictional immunity of russia in the judicial practice of Ukraine

Abstract

The article focuses on the latest trends in judicial practice in Ukraine regarding the limitation of judicial immunity of the russian federation in disputes related to compensation for damage caused to the life or health of natural persons on the territory of Ukraine, in the context of the aggression of the russian federation since 2014. The article analyzes the provisions of the national legislation of Ukraine and key international legal documents in the field of jurisdictional immunities - the European Convention on State Immunities of 1972 and the UN Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property of 2004. In particular, the possibility of applying the “tort exception” stipulated by international law is analyzed, considering cases regarding compensation for damage caused to the life or health of natural persons on the territory of Ukraine, as a result of the aggression of the russian federation. The issue of whether the actions of the russian federation and its armed forces on the territory of Ukraine fall under the understanding of the state’s implementation of its sovereign rights is considered separately, since the establishment of such a fact directly affects the extension of jurisdictional immunity to the state during the consideration of cases regarding the consequences of actions committed by the armed forces of this state on the territory another state. The practice of the Supreme Court in the above­mentioned categories of cases and its role in the formation of the tendency of international law to limit the jurisdictional immunities of states and the potential formation of new customary norms of international law regarding the limitation of jurisdictional immunities of states and the application of the concept of “delict exception” in the consideration of relevant cases are also analyzed. The article also analyzes the prospects for the implementation of decisions made by Ukrainian courts against the russian federation in disputes regarding compensation for damage caused to individuals on the territory of Ukraine as a result of the aggression of the russian federation.