Russia is establishing a network of "magistrates" in occupied Donetsk Oblast — human rights activists
In the temporarily occupied part of Donetsk Oblast, Russia is finalizing the establishment of a system of “justices of the peace,” who are to become part of the Russian Federation’s full-fledged judicial hierarchy in the occupied territories.
According to human rights activists, there are plans to establish 114 magistrate court districts in the occupied territory.
Candidates have already been selected in a number of cities and towns, including:
- Donetsk
- Makiivka
- Horlivka
- Yenakiieve
- Mariupol
- Volnovakha
and other areas of the region.
The newly established bodies will operate under Russian law and will hear:
- small-claims civil and property disputes;
- divorces;
- debt collection;
- labor disputes;
- administrative offenses;
- certain minor criminal cases.
The human rights group emphasizes that this is not a technical reform, but rather the integration of the occupied territories into the Russian Federation’s legal system.
“Formally, this is presented as improving access to justice and optimizing the work of the judicial system. In reality, however, it is about creating a full-fledged Russian judicial hierarchy in the occupied territories,” the human rights defenders note.
According to experts, once the system is launched, all civil, property, and administrative disputes will be adjudicated under Russian laws, the occupying authorities’ control over the population will intensify, and the application of Ukrainian law will be complicated.
Human rights defenders view this as another step toward the full legal integration of the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast into the Russian administrative system.
This was reported by the Eastern Human Rights Group.
As a reminder, in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the “United Russia” party has completed its so-called primaries and selected 130 “candidates” for the Russian State Duma, nearly a third of whom are participants in the war against Ukraine. Human rights activists state that this is no coincidence, but rather part of the Kremlin’s systematic policy to establish a loyal government in the occupied territories.
In the temporarily occupied city of Luhansk, Russian invaders have established the “Warrior” military-sports center, whose main goal is to involve local children and youth in military training.
