right to leave Russian territory.
161 As such, the order for provisional measures gave
content to a potential violation of the law of the sea, by recognising those rights’
validity. Russia’s concomitant conduct indicates a desire, where the potentiality of
breach has been made explicit, to pursue compliance.
4.1.2 Contextual Issues and International Perceptions of Russia’s
Conduct
This assessment, that Russia’s compliance with the provisional measures was caused
in part by the Netherlands’ initiation of proceedings, is strengthened by its surrounding context. The crew’s amnesty was approved as part of the 20
th anniversary
celebrations of the adoption of the Russian Constitution, and its drafting had been
in process since mid-2013.
162 However, it explicitly provided for the release of those
charged with hooliganism,
163 not for those charged with piracy, the crew’s earlier
charge.
164 The nexus between the amnesty and the Arctic Sunrise was stressed at the
2014 Meeting of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human
Rights: Mikhail Fedotov, the Chairman, aligned the amnesty with the human rights
‘triumph’ of the Sochi Olympics, with direct reference to the crew of the Arctic
Sunrise.
165 Moreover, the amnesty followed Fedotov’s own request for the crew's
release on 12 November 2013.
166 The amnesty, if not occasioned by the Arctic
Sunrise, was formulated with it in mind.
Russia’s Winter Olympic Games took place in Sochi from 7 to 23 February
2014,
167 and further contextualised the Arctic Sunrise crew’s release. The Games
heightened Russia’s concerns about external scrutiny of its compliance with international law. In particular, a Human Rights Watch report in 2012 criticised Russia’s
‘unprecedented crackdown against civic activism’, discriminatory laws, and censorship.
168 As a result, several Western media commentators, noting the temporal
proximity of the Olympics to the amnesty, attributed it to Russia’s desire to improve
161 Arctic Sunrise (Provisional Measures), para. 87.
162 President of Russia, Press Release of 25 June 2013: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/
18403.
163 Amnesty, Art. 6(5).
164 Id., Art. 10(1).
165 President of Russia, Press Release of 14 October 2014: http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/
46786 (‘President of Russia, Press Release of 14 October 2014’).
166 ‘Delo Arctic Sunrise: Zaderzhanie aktivistov Greenpeace u neftjanoj platformy ‘Gazproma”,
RAPSI News (online), 22 November 2013: http://rapsinews.ru/incident_publication/20131122/
269764768.html.
167 See Olympic Games, ‘Sochi 2014’ (2018): https://www.olympic.org/sochi-2014.
168 Human Rights Watch, ‘World Report 2013: Russia – Events of 2012’, January 2013: https://
www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/russia.
16 Implementing the Law of the Sea: Russia and Arbitrations Under Annex VII to. . .
305
161 As such, the order for provisional measures gave
content to a potential violation of the law of the sea, by recognising those rights’
validity. Russia’s concomitant conduct indicates a desire, where the potentiality of
breach has been made explicit, to pursue compliance.
4.1.2 Contextual Issues and International Perceptions of Russia’s
Conduct
This assessment, that Russia’s compliance with the provisional measures was caused
in part by the Netherlands’ initiation of proceedings, is strengthened by its surrounding context. The crew’s amnesty was approved as part of the 20
th anniversary
celebrations of the adoption of the Russian Constitution, and its drafting had been
in process since mid-2013.
162 However, it explicitly provided for the release of those
charged with hooliganism,
163 not for those charged with piracy, the crew’s earlier
charge.
164 The nexus between the amnesty and the Arctic Sunrise was stressed at the
2014 Meeting of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human
Rights: Mikhail Fedotov, the Chairman, aligned the amnesty with the human rights
‘triumph’ of the Sochi Olympics, with direct reference to the crew of the Arctic
Sunrise.
165 Moreover, the amnesty followed Fedotov’s own request for the crew's
release on 12 November 2013.
166 The amnesty, if not occasioned by the Arctic
Sunrise, was formulated with it in mind.
Russia’s Winter Olympic Games took place in Sochi from 7 to 23 February
2014,
167 and further contextualised the Arctic Sunrise crew’s release. The Games
heightened Russia’s concerns about external scrutiny of its compliance with international law. In particular, a Human Rights Watch report in 2012 criticised Russia’s
‘unprecedented crackdown against civic activism’, discriminatory laws, and censorship.
168 As a result, several Western media commentators, noting the temporal
proximity of the Olympics to the amnesty, attributed it to Russia’s desire to improve
161 Arctic Sunrise (Provisional Measures), para. 87.
162 President of Russia, Press Release of 25 June 2013: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/
18403.
163 Amnesty, Art. 6(5).
164 Id., Art. 10(1).
165 President of Russia, Press Release of 14 October 2014: http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/
46786 (‘President of Russia, Press Release of 14 October 2014’).
166 ‘Delo Arctic Sunrise: Zaderzhanie aktivistov Greenpeace u neftjanoj platformy ‘Gazproma”,
RAPSI News (online), 22 November 2013: http://rapsinews.ru/incident_publication/20131122/
269764768.html.
167 See Olympic Games, ‘Sochi 2014’ (2018): https://www.olympic.org/sochi-2014.
168 Human Rights Watch, ‘World Report 2013: Russia – Events of 2012’, January 2013: https://
www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/russia.
16 Implementing the Law of the Sea: Russia and Arbitrations Under Annex VII to. . .
305