The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) voted on Monday (13) that the Russian Federation failed to comply with its obligations under international air law in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014.
This is the first time in ICAO history that its Council has taken a decision on the merits of a dispute between Member States under the Organization's dispute settlement mechanism.
The Council agreed that the claims made by Australia and the Netherlands in connection with the downing of Flight MH17 on 17 July 2014 were well founded in fact and law. The case centred on allegations that the conduct of the Russian Federation in shooting down the aircraft with a surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine constituted a violation of Article 3bis of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, which requires States “to refrain from resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight”.
The proceedings involved written submissions and oral hearings spanning several Council sessions.
A formal decision document setting out the factual and legal reasons for the Council's conclusions will be issued at a future meeting.
Russia denies
In response, the Russian government rejected the findings. “We do not accept biased decisions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, maintaining its historic position of denying involvement in the incident.
The director of the Dutch Safety Office (OVV), Tjibbe Joustra, said at the time of the accident that the Boeing 777 was hit by a missile that exploded on the left side of the cockpit, destroying the front of the aircraft and causing it to break up in mid-air. Three crew died in the initial impact.
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