National Capital Authority accepts Russia can build new embassy on land it was told to vacate

The Federal Court has ruled last year's eviction order by the NCA was invalid. It means the Russian government can keep building an embassy on the plot from which it was kicked off.

The embassy said it would restart building on the land.

The judge's order says the NCA should be "restrained" from:

The judge's orders come after the two sides agreed. In other words, the NCA accepted it had lost. There was no order for it to pay the Russian embassy's legal costs.

The court case started last August when the NCA (which is the Commonwealth government agency for regulating the central diplomatic and parliamentary area of Canberra) told the Russian government that land allocated for a new embassy would be take from it. In effect, it was an eviction.

The Russian embassy decided to contest the eviction in court and has now won the case. It keeps the land it was kicked off.

"The Embassy is committed to resume works on the site and timely complete the construction," a statement said.

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The whole saga started in 2008 when the NCA gave permission to the Russian government for a new embassy on Block 26 Section 44 in Yarralumla, with building approvals on March 31, 2011 and September 23, 2011.

There were then long delays. The plot remains largely undeveloped. The Russian embassy had a problem with the original contractors for the building.

There was also a question over how many people from Russia should be given visas to oversee the work. Russia wanted more; the Australian authorities wanted fewer.

Either way, the new embassy was far from complete when the NCA terminated the lease. Its argument was a "use it or lose it" one - Russia had not completed the building or even made a substantial start, the NCA reasoned, so it should lose the land.

"Under the lease, the Russian Federation had agreed to finish construction within three years. Despite some efforts to progress an embassy, completion of the project has not occurred," the NCA said when it terminated the lease.

It said it had been negotiating with the Russian government over many years but "in the absence of a commitment to a completion date, the NCA decided to terminate the lease. The Russian Federation has 20 days from the day the notice of termination was served to clear the site".

But the Russian government went to court instead.

When Russia was given the "termination" notice, a spokesman at the embassy conceded "the building project had indeed encountered multiple problems and delays through several years", but said "at all times, these were a matter of constructive and frank consultations between the embassy and the NCA".

The NCA had a difficult day in court on November 23 when Justice Steven Rares showed his clear displeasure at the case being made by the NCA. "An absolute disgrace," were his words.

"Embarrassing," he said.

The embassy had provided a detailed document, listing meetings between the ambassador and other Russian diplomats on one side and officials from the NCA on the other. But, in the judge's view, the NCA had not given an adequate, detailed response.

Russia will resume building the embassy and moving some or all of its operations from the current embassy on Canberra Avenue. The NCA may also reflect on its course of action over the largely empty plot with a court order keeping it out.

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