BERLIN, September 22. /ITAR-TASS/. Relatives of German citizens, who died on board the Malaysian Boeing which crashed in Ukraine, have a good chance of winning a lawsuit filed at the European Court of Human Rights against the Ukrainian authorities, German lawyer Elmar Giemulla, who represents the interests of the families of the German victims of the air disaster, told ITAR-TASS on Monday.

The lawyer assessed the German families' chances as very good despite the fact that no such lawsuits have ever come up at the European Court of Human Rights before. "We have good arguments to back our position,” the lawyer said, citing the norms of international law which envisage that a state bears responsibility for what is happening in its air space. "If the Ukrainian authorities did not close the country's air space they should be held responsible for the crash of the Malaysian Boeing," the German lawyer said.

The Malaysian Boeing which performed a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala-Lumpur with 298 people on board, crashed on the territory of Ukraine on July 17. There were no survivals. Four German citizens were among the victims.

Elmar Giemulla represents the interests of the families of three German victims of the air disaster. A lawsuit is being prepared against the government of Ukraine and President Petro Poroshenko.