The ECHR ruled that Russia's seizure of land plots in Sevastopol was unlawful

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled in the case of “Bazhenov and Others v. Russia and Ukraine,” finding that the Russian Federation violated the right to a fair trial and the right to property through the forcible expropriation of land in occupied Sevastopol.

The case concerned events from 2015 to 2017, when the occupying authorities revoked ownership rights to land plots that had previously been legally privatized in accordance with Ukrainian law. The Russian side returned these plots to “state ownership,” arguing that the territories allegedly belonged to the forest fund and were not subject to transfer to private hands.

The judges of the ECHR unanimously found a violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights (protection of property rights) with respect to four applicants: three citizens were deprived of the plots themselves, while another woman was deprived of the proceeds from the sale of her land. In addition, the court confirmed a violation of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention regarding the right to a fair trial.

The ECHR’s judgment emphasizes that local “courts” controlled by the Kremlin used formal references to provisions of Ukrainian law merely as a pretext to subsequently revoke property rights in favor of Russian legislation and judicial practice. The international court concluded that such decisions to confiscate property are entirely unlawful and also overturned the Russian courts’ order requiring one of the applicants to compensate the buyer for the value of the disputed plot of land that had previously been sold.

Source: ECHR.

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