Denial of Russia’s Sovereign Immunity in Tort Claims by IDPs in National Courts of Georgian

Abstract

The occupation of the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions by the Russian Federation in 1992-1993 was followed by a complete occupation of 20% of Georgia as a result of the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, when the Russian Federation committed egregious crimes, the genocide of the Georgian people and destruction of their property. By the international community it was recognized as one of the most malicious human rights violations resulting in 300,000 internally displaced persons continuously suffering from material and moral damage due to the ongoing occupation. They are in need of a full and fair restoration of their rights. Therefore, according to international and national law standards, they may be entitled to demand compensation from the Russian Federation for the damages caused by illegal actions in Georgian courts, especially in the conditions when Russia has been expelled from the Council of Europe since March 2022. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) no longer has jurisdiction over new disputes with this country’s involvement since September 17, 2022. Therefore, it will not hear such cases as the only means of compensating the
IDPs being lodging with national courts. This research uses a comparative analysis method. The judicial topic is scrutinized by examining decisions of international and foreign courts about the identified problem. The study encompasses an in-depth review
of articles focused on this subject, including an exploration of divergent opinions provided in each source.Furthermore, the author presents a perspective on resolving the issue, offering a synthesized viewpoint that enriches the ongoing discourse.