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The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) announced on Tuesday 4 December 2018 that it had rejected the request of the Government of the Russian Federation for the referral of the case No.21034/05, Sandu and others v. the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation to the Grand Chamber following the judgment of 17 July 2018.

In October 2018, the Russian Government requested a review of the ruling, by which the ECtHR found that Russia had violated the right to property of more than 1646 landowners from Dubasari district. The Russian Government challenged the conclusions of the ECtHR on its jurisdiction over the territory of the Transnistrian region, claiming that the Russian agents did not participate in the violation of farmers’ rights to property, although these arguments were rejected by the first panel of the High Court in Strasbourg.

The request of the Russian Government was examined by a panel of 5 judges of the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR, who decided to reject the request for referral to the Grand Chamber.

Alexandru Postica, Director of the Human Rights Program, Promo-LEX Association, said, “in accordance with Article 44 § 2 (c) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the decision of a Chamber becomes final when the panel, consisting of 5 judges of the Grand Chamber, rejects the request for referral to the Grand Chamber submitted by the participants under Article 43. In other words, the Russian Federation is obliged to unconditionally execute the judgment of the ECtHR of 17 July 2018”.

The case involves 1646 individuals and 3 agricultural companies from the Dubasari district (the villages of Dorotcaia, Parata, Molovata-Noua, Pohrebea and Cocieri). The ECtHR ordered Russia to pay moral damages in the amount of 1,500 euros to each farmer and 5,000 euros to each agricultural company. At the same time, the ECtHR ordered the Russian Government to pay pecuniary damages to the three agricultural companies, worth a total of 245,800 euros. Russia also has to incur 20,000 euros as representation expenses. In total, the Russian Federation has to pay 2 million 749 thousand 800 euros.

For more details, please contact:

Natalia Munteanu, Promo-LEX Communications Officer;

GSM: 069437040;

E-mail: [email protected]