UK, Canada, Sweden, Ukraine take Iran to top UN court over downed Ukrainian flight

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) — The UK, Canada, Sweden, and Ukraine have taken Iran to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the downing of a civilian aircraft in 2020, the UN's top court announced on Wednesday.

"In their Application, Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom claim that Iran has violated a series of obligations under the Montreal Convention as a result of the shooting down on 8 January 2020 of a civil aircraft in service, Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, by military personnel of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," the ICJ said in a statement.

The joint application instituting proceedings against Iran was filed on Tuesday, added the statement.

All 176 passengers and crew aboard the flight, many of whom were nationals and residents of the applicant states, were killed in the crash after the plane was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Jan. 8, 2020.

Iranian authorities have rejected claims that the Ukrainian plane was shot down intentionally.

The incident occurred five days after top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad.

According to the applicants, Iran "failed to take all practicable measures to prevent the unlawful and intentional commission of an offence described in Article 1 of the Montreal Convention, including the destruction of Flight PS752."

"It also subsequently failed to conduct an impartial, transparent, and fair criminal investigation and prosecution consistent with international law," they added.

In a joint statement, the four nations said Tehran failed to respond to their request for arbitration, sent on Dec. 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."

It added that Iran's actions in relation to the downing of the plane "amount to violations of Iran's international legal obligations, for which Iran must take full responsibility."

"Today's legal action reflects our unwavering commitment to achieving transparency, justice and accountability for the families of the victims," said the joint statement.