The Russian Federation still has the obligation to execute the judgments pronounced by the European Court of Human Rights in the so-called “Transnistrian cases”, despite no longer being a Council of Europe member. The Moldovan human rights organization Promo-LEX reported that at its latest meeting during December 6-8, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe examined two groups of cases against Russia. Both concern human rights violations in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova.

In the Catan et al v. Russia group of cases, the delegates adopted a decision recalling that in addition to the payment of just satisfaction, measures to enforce these judgments, as identified in the Secretariat’s analysis, include: revoking the “regulatory framework” at the root of the violations, the restitution of buildings that belonged to the high schools, and measures to eliminate the harassment and intimidation of the students, parents and staff of the high schools.

In the group of cases Mozer v. Russia, the delegates drew attention to the fact that the Russian Government is to pay the sums of money as well as to fulfill other measures of a general nature. This group of cases includes judgments delivered by the ECHR regarding the violation of the right to life, the right not to be subjected to torture, the right to freedom and security, as well as other constitutional rights, judgments that were issued during the years 2011-2021.

At the same time, the Committee of Ministers mentioned that, currently, there are 2227 cases against the Russian Federation that are to be executed. These cases concern human rights violations in the Russian Federation as a result of territorial and extraterritorial jurisdiction. “It should be noted that this also includes judgments regarding human rights violations, including from the territory of other states than the Russian Federation, namely Georgia, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova”, said Promo-LEX.

Additionally, the Committee adopted a strategy whereby it emphasized the need for close cooperation with civil society, which remains one of the most accessible and credible resources, bearing in mind that the authorities of the Russian Federation do not cooperate with European institutions.

In the context of the decisions adopted by the delegates of the Committee of Ministers, on December 12, 2022, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, delivered a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation recalling that the Russian Federation has an obligation to execute the decisions pronounced by the ECHR, even if it is no longer part of the European Convention on Human Rights as of September 16, 2022.