An aviation lawyer says suing Russia and its president in the European Court of Human Rights over the MH 17 disaster will be a tough legal battle.
Jerry Skinner is representing the relatives of some of those who died when the Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over Ukraine in July, 2014.
He's acting on behalf of 33 next-of-kin from Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia and wants 10 million dollars for each victim.
For more than 25 years, Jerry Skinner has been representing people who have lost loved ones in air disasters all over the world, including the 1988 Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
He was involved in negotiations that eventually led to the State of Libya paying out more than 2.7 billion to the surviving relatives.
In recent years his attention has been focused on those left grieving after the shooting down of Flight MH 17.
Legal action is underway on several fronts but suing Russia and its president Vladimir Putin in the European Court of Human Rights is perhaps one of his most ambitious ventures.
Jerry Skinner says it's bound to be a hard fight.
