Category: 6. Opinion

On 9 July 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, the Court) issued its long-awaited merits judgment in Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, a nearly 500-page ruling of unprecedented scale in the Court’s history, which also drew an exceptional number of third-party interventions…

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, Court)’s merits judgment in Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia (Ukraine-v.-Russia) prompted assessments (here; here; here; here). This post addresses one unexamined question: how the judgment has shaped, could have shaped, and may still shape…

In this reflection piece, we will offer a few brief observations on the blog posts authored by Alice Donald, Kirill Koroteev and Nils Muižnieks, to whom we are most grateful. The three contributions appear to complement one another in broadly contending that more could—and perhaps…

After the Interstellar movie came out a meme started circulating among Russian human rights lawyers. Depicting protagonists on a faraway planet the picture had a caption saying, “One hour on this planet is seven years on Earth. Perfect place to wait for a judgment of the European Court of…

The volume Russia, the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights should be essential reading for a number of different audiences.  It is very useful to have a detailed documentation of the fractious relationship of the organisation with one of its most important members. The…

Could the Council of Europe (CoE) have done more to confront the belligerence, backsliding and bad faith that culminated in Russia’s expulsion? Judge Pavli’s remarkable separate opinion in the case of Novaya Gazeta has ignited debate about this question in respect of the European Court of…

We are delighted that EJIL:Talk! is convening a symposium on our co-authored book published under the above title, by Bristol University Press earlier this year. This opportunity arises at a particularly poignant moment given the recent judgment in Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia (on which…

Over the coming days we will be hosting a symposium on the  book “Russia, the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights”, co-authored by  Ed Bates, Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou and Andrew Forde, and published by Bristol University Press earlier this year.

Following an…

Russia’s withdrawal from the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands didn’t make global headlines—but it probably should have. At first glance, a wetlands convention may seem an unlikely casualty of war. Yet, when Contracting Parties, at their fourteenth meeting, voted to pass a resolution in…

“When shall we three meet again in thunder, lightning, or in rain?

When the hurlyburly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won.”

Macbeth, Witches, Act I, Scene I.

Introduction

After the recent meeting of US-President Trump with Russian President Putin, and the ensuing meeting of President…