Georgia v Russia (IV): European Court awards €253 million in just satisfaction

The European Court of Human Rights has delivered its judgement on just satisfaction in Georgia v. Russia (IV) (Application no. 39611/18), awarding approximately €253 million in non-pecuniary damages for human rights violations arising from the "borderisation" process between Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Georgian-controlled territory.

The application concerned systematic human rights violations occurring since 2009 along the administrative boundary line (ABL). In its principal judgement of 9 April 2024, the Court identified multiple administrative practices contrary to the Convention, including excessive use of force resulting in loss of life, ill-treatment, unlawful detention, restrictions on freedom of movement, denial of access to property and family life, and denial of education in the Georgian language.

The Court confirmed jurisdiction despite Russia's withdrawal from the Council of Europe on 16 September 2022, noting that the violations occurred prior to that date. The respondent Government declined to participate in the just satisfaction proceedings, leading the Court to draw adverse inferences from their non-cooperation.

Methodology and victim identification

Applying the framework established in Georgia v. Russia (I) (just satisfaction), the Court required that victims form "sufficiently precise and objectively identifiable" groups. The applicant Government submitted detailed lists of alleged victims, which the Court scrutinised to ensure claims were plausible and adequately substantiated.

Several categories of claims were excluded: those concerning individuals who had lodged separate applications, and claims regarding the inability to return home under Article 2 of Protocol No. 4, which fell outside the principal judgement's scope.

Breakdown of awards

The Court made six distinct awards covering different violation categories:

Article 2 violations: €1.3 million for at least twenty victims of excessive use of force and inadequate investigation, though Georgia claimed fifty-one victims.

Article 3 violations: €1.976 million for at least seventy-six victims of ill-treatment following arrest, where the Court had initially identified fifty incidents but accepted Georgia's higher substantiated figure. Additionally, €5.172 million was awarded for at least 2,586 victims of unlawful detention in conditions breaching Article 3.

Freedom of movement: €320,000 for sixty-four victims of unlawful restrictions on day-to-day movement across the ABL under Article 2 of Protocol No. 4.

Property and private life: The largest award of €224.25 million addressed violations of Article 8 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, covering at least 23,000 ethnic Georgians prevented from accessing homes, land, property, cemeteries, and families—a figure consistent with findings in Georgia v. Russia (II).

Education rights: €20 million was awarded for at least 4,000 schoolchildren denied primary and secondary education in Georgian, based on materials indicating the transition to Russian-language instruction was completed in Abkhazia in 2022 and South Ossetia in 2023.

Distribution and supervision

The judgement places responsibility on the applicant Government to establish an effective distribution mechanism under Committee of Ministers supervision, with an eighteen-month timeline from payment. This approach follows established precedent in inter-state cases where individual victims can be identified.

The Court confirmed that Committee of Ministers supervision of Russian Federation judgement execution continues notwithstanding Russia's withdrawal from the Council of Europe system, with Article 46 obligations remaining binding.

The default interest rate was set at the European Central Bank's marginal lending rate plus three percentage points, applicable from expiry of the three-month payment deadline until settlement.