Russia loses embassy land case as Australian court says new law to take effect

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – A court in Australia on Monday found a new law that had brought “radical change in circumstances” thus rejecting the Russian embassy’s move to “prevent the Commonwealth from taking control of a site it leased for a new embassy.”

High Court Justice Jayne Jagot told the court: “The law of the parliament had to take precedence,” ABC News reported.

Following the court verdict, a lone Russian diplomat living at the site, close to the Australian parliament, vacated the site, where the Russian Embassy has built a building.

Russia last week had launched a formal legal case against Australia over the cancellation of Moscow’s lease on the land to construct a new embassy building in Canberra.

Justice Jagot also found Russia’s claims “were too vague and nebulous to provide evidence of potential damage.”

The Russians had challenged the new law, arguing it “was not constitutional and should be ruled invalid.”

“Overall effect must be given to the act, and the application for an injunction was dismissed,” he said in his decision.

“There is no proper foundation for the interlocutory injunction as sought by (Russia)," Jagot said.

The government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week rushed through a new law to cancel the lease to the Russian Embassy.

“The government has received very clear security advice as to the risk presented by a new Russian presence so close to the parliament,” the Australian premier had said about leasing land to the Russian Embassy.

A Russian diplomat was seen squatting on a piece of land in the Yarralumla area in Canberra.

Russians had told the court that it has already spent around $8.2 million on construction and associated works since the land was leased in December 2008.

The dispute escalated last August when Australia’s National Capital Authority asked the Russian Embassy to vacate the site in Yarralumla “where construction work on a new diplomatic complex was underway.”

However, Russians challenged the authority’s decision in an Australian federal court and won.

It led the Albanese government to propose and get a new law passed “to permanently stop the construction of a new embassy building.”