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PCA rules Russia must compensate Netherlands in Arctic Sunrise case

Xinhua, August 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

Russia has to pay damages to the Netherlands for the 2013 seizure of Dutch-flagged Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise ship during a protest against Arctic oil drilling, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled on Monday.

The PCA, an international court based in The Hague, stated that "The Netherlands is entitled to compensation, with interest." The Tribunal will announce the quantum of compensation and interest at a later date.

The reasons for the compensation range from damage to the Arctic Sunrise, to non-material damage for the wrongful arrest, prosecution, and detention, to damage resulting from the measures taken by Russia related to expenses for security and surrounding the detention, according to PCA.

On Sept. 19 in 2013, Russian authorities confiscated the Arctic Sunrise and arrested and detained the 30 people on board after an attempt to stage a protest against oil drilling at Prirazlomnaya platform in the Pechora Sea.

The group, known as the Arctic 30, was originally arrested and indicted for piracy, but the charges were later reduced to hooliganism. Two months later they were released and the charged were eventually dropped.

According to the court, Russia breached its obligations to the Netherlands under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea by boarding, investigating, inspecting, arresting, detaining, and seizing the Arctic Sunrise without the prior consent of the Dutch.

In addition, the PCA said it found that Russia breached its obligations related to the order issued by the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), which had ordered Russia in November 2013 to promptly release the ship and its crew. Russia failed to satisfy the "promptness" requirement, according to the PCA ruling.

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders welcomed the verdict. "The ruling means our key points were confirmed and it provides ships in international waters the insurance that without a proper ground they cannot be boarded and that the crew cannot be arrested," he said in a press release. Endit