Russia systematically ignores the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) judgments in cases regarding violations committed in the Transnistrian region, leaving thousands of victims without the court-ordered compensation. Despite its international obligations, Russia has failed to execute over 2,200 judgments.
Russia declines to implement ECtHR rulings under the Convention, especially those concerning Transnistria. Promo-LEX reports that, although the ECtHR found Russia responsible for numerous serious violations—including in the Catan, Mozer, and Sandu cases—the Russian authorities have neither paid the awarded damages nor implemented the court’s remedial measures.
Despite its 2022 expulsion from the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers insisted that Russia enforce its past judgments. Russia, however, has neither cooperated nor presented any action plan. This refusal also affects victims in Transnistria—for example, students and teachers at Latin-script schools who remain uncompensated for violations of their right to education.
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The Committee of Ministers oversaw over 2,200 ECtHR judgments against Russia by 2022.
These cases covered Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, and Russian territory. Russia eventually paid the damages in the Ilascu and Pisari cases, but it has outright refused payment in all other cases.
Promo-LEX and other organizations propose an alternative: use the Russian assets frozen by Western states—including the Russian Central Bank’s reserves—to pay the ECtHR-ordered compensations. Russia currently owes an estimated €2.85 billion in unpaid awards. Turning these assets into a reparation fund would serve human rights victims in the absence of Russian cooperation.
Applying this solution faces the hurdle of sovereign immunity, which generally bars forced execution of a foreign state’s assets abroad. International law experts are now assessing whether Russia’s systematic refusal to enforce ECtHR judgments—and its aggression in Ukraine and repeated grave rights violations—could justify an exception.
Promo-LEX warns that without an effective coercive mechanism, the European Convention on Human Rights becomes a fragile instrument.
This situation risks denying victims justice, especially in Transnistria, where de facto authorities frequently violate fundamental rights and operate without real legal oversight.