We, ministers representing Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, have taken an important step in our collective effort to ensure Iran is held accountable for the unlawful downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 (Flight PS752).

Iran failed to respond to our request for arbitration sent on December 28, 2022. As a result, this week in The Hague, we have jointly filed an application with the International Court of Justice instituting proceedings against Iran in relation to their breaches of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation of 1971.

As we have reiterated on multiple occasions, Iran’s actions and omissions in relation to the downing of Flight PS752 by 2 surface-to-air missiles launched by members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force amount to violations of Iran’s international legal obligations for which Iran must take full responsibility.

More specifically, as stated in our application, Iran has, among other violations, failed to take all practicable measures to prevent the destruction of Flight PS752 by members of its armed forces. Iran has equally failed to advance a full, transparent and impartial criminal investigation and prosecution in accordance with international standards.

Today’s legal action reflects our unwavering commitment to achieving transparency, justice and accountability for the families of the victims

For reference: The Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation is also known as the 1971 Montreal Convention. Canada, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Iran are all contracting States to this Convention.

This Convention requires states to prohibit, prevent and punish certain offences against civil aviation, including the unlawful and intentional destruction of an aircraft in service.

Under this Convention, Contracting States also have international legal obligations related to the prosecution or extradition of persons in their territory who are alleged to have committed an offence against civil aviation. The State that has taken custody of the offender or alleged offender shall immediately make a preliminary enquiry into the facts and notify the interested States of its findings. The state must also report to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization, as promptly as possible, any relevant information in its possession, including the circumstances of any offence against civil aviation.

Contracting States are also under an obligation to endeavour to take all practicable measures for the purpose of preventing the offences mentioned in Article 1 of the Convention, including the destruction of an aircraft in service.

The Convention provides that any dispute between 2 or more States concerning the interpretation or application of this Convention that cannot be settled through negotiation shall, at the request of one of the parties, be submitted to arbitration. If the parties cannot agree on the terms for organizing an independent arbitral tribunal with jurisdiction to hear this litigation within 6 months of the request, any party may refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice.

In their application, the members of the Coordination Group (the “Applicants”) indicate that following the request for arbitration sent on December 28, 2022, they were not able to agree on the terms for organizing arbitration.

The referral of a dispute to the International Court of Justice begins with the submission of an application – a written document that specifies the nature of the claim and succinctly states the facts and the legal grounds on which the claim is based. 

In their application, the members of the Coordination Group state that Iran conducted actions and omissions wholly inconsistent with the requirements of the 1971 Montreal Convention before and following the downing of Flight PS752 by military personnel of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force. 

Specifically, the members of the Coordination Group argue that Iran failed to endeavour to take all practicable measures to prevent the destruction of Flight PS752. It also subsequently failed to conduct a transparent, fair and impartial investigation and prosecution consistent with international law. Instead, Iran withheld or destroyed evidence (including the immediate bulldozing of the crash site), blamed other states before placing the blame on low-level IRGC military personnel for the downing, conducted a sham and opaque trial, and failed to advise either the Applicants or the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization of the measures taken in relation to the alleged offenders.

These acts or omissions amount to violations of the 1971 Montreal Convention which give rise to Iran’s responsibility under international law, including a legal obligation to make full reparation to the Applicants. Iran, for its part, denies all state responsibility and continues a campaign of misinformation, intimidation and harassment to try to distract the international community, the Iranian people and the families from the truth. 

As such, the members of the Coordination Group are requesting that the International Court of Justice adjudicate this dispute and find that Iran committed an internationally wrongful act as alleged. The members of the Group also request that the Court order Iran to publicly acknowledge the internationally wrongful acts and omissions and publically apologise to the Applicants and the families of the victims. They also request that Iran provide information to show that concrete measures to prevent a similar downing in the future have been instituted. They further request that Iran fulfil its other legal obligations under the 1971 Montreal Convention, including the prosecution or extradition of all alleged offenders, with any prosecution taking place in a transparent and impartial manner. They finally request that Iran provide equitable compensation to the members of the Coordination Group for the material and moral damages suffered by the victims and their families as a result of the downing and its other failures.

Following the submission of the application, the Court will set dates for written proceedings and, subsequently, oral proceedings. The respondent in a dispute may raise preliminary objections to the jurisdiction of the Court. Proceedings at the International Court of Justice usually take several years.