Abstract
On 17 July 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over Eastern Ukraine, leaving no survivors. Since, victims’ relatives, States, and the wider public are trying to understand what happened, how it could happen, who is responsible, and how to address these responsibilities. The efforts to find justice have faced many complications and legal complexities. This article aims to provide insight into these legal and political complexities. In particular, it discusses the core legal questions of the criminal accountability of the perpetrators and the State responsibility of those States involved —Ukraine and Russia— through the legal doctrines of public international law and the European Convention on Human Rights. It further offers some core considerations relating to civil liability of States and airline carriers. In addition to providing insight into why the road to justice is long and arduous, the legal options available, and the specific challenges of each, the article also emphasises that having a legal option does not necessarily mean that it is also the best choice to use it. That choice is up to victims’ relatives and the States concerned. The article takes no position in this regard. Instead, it seeks to provide an analysis that may contribute to making such decisions in an informed manner.
Highlights
This Special Issue poses the question of what it means to practice international law
This article addresses the complexities of lawyering justice when multiple legal fields and legal orders intersect
This article discusses the tragedy of the MH17 crash, and the questions this provokes relating to what legal responsibilities may have been violated and how to hold those that violated these obligations to account
Summary
This Special Issue poses the question of what it means to practice international law. It provides some contextual setting by briefly introducing the key findings of the investigations so far and stipulates some observations on the often-heard question of why it takes so long to bring those responsible to account. The sections that follow discuss legal responsibilities of different actors, which may have acted or failed to do so in ways that contributed to the situation in which MH17 could occur or concerning the investigative efforts afterwards. While civil litigation as legal avenue is by no means less relevant than other legal frameworks, due to the limited space of this article and since most civil litigation for MH17 has been completed, this section only provides the analysis needed to understand the general framework and types of obligations for sake of comprehensiveness. Realising the limitations of what law can bring is an important and necessary realisation when considering your options, in a difficult and sensitive situation like the tragedy of MH17
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