On 12 May 2025, ICAO’s Council voted that the Russian Federation failed to uphold its obligations under international air law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. This is the first time in ICAO’s history that its Council has made a determination on the merits of a dispute between Member States under the Organization’s dispute settlement mechanism.
The Council agreed that the claims brought by Australia and the Netherlands as a result of the shooting down of Flight MH17 on 17 July 2014, were well-founded in fact and in law. The case centered on allegations that the conduct of the Russian Federation in the downing of the aircraft by a surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine constitutes a breach of Article 3 bis of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, which requires that States “refrain from resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight.”
The proceedings involved written submissions and oral hearings spanning multiple Council sessions. A formal decision document setting out the reasons of fact and law leading to the Council’s conclusions will be issued at a future meeting.
ICAO serves as the global forum of States for international civil aviation. In this role, ICAO develops policies and Standards, undertakes compliance audits, performs studies and analyses, provides assistance and builds aviation capacity through many other activities and the cooperation of its Member States and stakeholders. The ICAO Assembly that meets every three years, elects 36 States to serve on the ICAO Council, the governing body responsible for Secretariat oversight, and for the ongoing diplomatic and technical decision making through ICAO, while the Assembly is not in session.
Each elected Council State appoints a diplomatic representative to ICAO for these three year periods, and they elect a non-voting Council President to manage their work and support and guide their engagements. The Council has many duties and obligations under the convention, for more information about these functions, procedures, and history, click here.
