The Shostka City District Court of Sumy Region fully satisfied the claim of the ICO “Environment-People-Law” and the National Nature Park “Desniansko-Starohutsky” to the Russian Federation for compensation for environmental damage caused as a result of armed aggression and recovered over UAH 6.1 million in damages from Russia.
This case was one of the first in Ukraine where the subject of judicial consideration was compensation for environmental damage caused to the territory of a nature reserve fund as a result of military actions.
During the hearing of the case, the court examined evidence of the consequences of Russian shelling of the territory of the national park, which is part of the UNESCO Desnyansky Biosphere Reserve and is part of the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine.
The court found that Russian shelling destroyed hundreds of trees, contaminated land, damaged the park’s natural complexes, and harmed its ecosystems.
During the hearing of the case, the court found that:
The damage to the park’s natural complexes is a direct consequence of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation;
Russia cannot invoke judicial immunity in cases of compensation for damage caused by aggression;
The aggressor state must bear full responsibility for the destruction of Ukraine’s natural heritage.
From the perspective of public access to justice, the importance of this decision lies in the fact that the court confirmed the practical implementation of the public’s right to environmental protection in court and confirmed that non-governmental environmental organizations can be an effective participant in the process of documenting and compensating for damae caused to Ukraine’s natural heritage as a result of the war.
According to lawyer Olena Pelykh, who represented EPL’s interests in this case:
“This decision is of a particular significance that goes far beyond a single national park. The court confirmed that environmental damage caused by war can be properly documented, assessed, and recovered from the aggressor state through judicial proceedings.”
For EPL, this case is an important step in shaping the jurisprudence of environmental reparations and sets an important precedent for future claims for compensation for environmental damage caused by the war and forms the legal basis for future environmental reparations for Ukraine.
Currently, EPL lawyers are preparing other lawsuits against the Russian Federation to recover damage caused to protected areas of Ukraine, as Russia must be held accountable for all environmental damage caused as a result of military operations.
