The Government of Georgia has achieved another significant victory in the Strasbourg Court [SC], which has reaffirmed Georgia’s territorial integrity. Such a statement made today Anri Okhanashvili, Minister of Justice.

“The SC issued a ruling in the case Taganova and Others v. Georgia and Russia, which placed complete responsibility for property rights violations in the occupied territory of Abkhazia on Russia.

The claims made by the complainants in this case were related to property issues in the occupied Abkhazia territory. Today’s decision by the SC once again confirmed that the full responsibility for human rights violations in the occupied territories lies with Russia, as it continues to exercise effective control over the Abkhazia territory it has occupied. The SC emphasized that according to international law, Abkhazia is an integral part of Georgia; however, since the 1990s, the Georgian government has been unable to exercise effective control due to Russian military, economic, political interference.

Despite the Georgian government’s inability to exercise effective control over the occupied territory of Abkhazia, the SC explicitly noted that it has taken all possible and reasonable measures to protect the property rights of individuals in Abkhazia. The European Court’s latest ruling once again validates the appropriateness of the reasonable and peaceful de-occupation policy pursued by the Georgian Government since 2012.

I congratulate our society on this significant state-level victory. I want to take this opportunity and thank the employees of the Justice Ministry for their contributions to safeguarding state interests”, - said Anri Okhanashvili.