Are the decisions of the European Court of Justice concerning Azerbaijan being implemented?

Baku/04.05.23/Turan: In 2022, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) adopted 56 decisions and rulings concerning Azerbaijan. The Court rendered 23 decisions on the merits of the cases under consideration. In 22 resolutions adopted on 91 applications, the majority of violations were recognized. The ECHR has issued 33 resolutions based on 91 applications in a year. Six of these decisions were related to the unacceptability of statements, 22 decisions were made on the basis of amicable agreements reached by the parties and 5 decisions were made on the basis of a unilateral declaration of the government.

In 2021, the largest number of decisions of the ECHR in Azerbaijan concerned violations of the rights to freedom and personal integrity - 9 decisions. In the same year, decisions were also made on 7 cases involving violations of the right not to be subjected to torture and on 7 cases involving violations of the right to a fair trial. In 2022, there was no significant change in the nature of violations – 9 decisions recognized a violation of the right to freedom and personal integrity, 7 decisions recognized a violation of the right to a fair trial.

In 2021, 36 decisions were made against 161 applicants. In 2022, 22 decisions were announced in connection with the violation of the rights of 91 applicants.

But have these decisions been implemented?

Khalid Agaliyev, head of the Media Rights Group (Media hüququ), tells about this in the "Difficult Question" program.

According to him, over four months of 2023, the ECHR considered 150 applications from Azerbaijan.

"By the end of April, 40 decisions and resolutions were made on these statements. In 15 of them, the court ruled on the merits of the cases under consideration. In 14 cases out of 15, the ECHR recognized the majority of the alleged violations. Only one application related to property rights was declared inadmissible."

Agaliyev noted that the total amount of compensation to be paid to the applicants, including on the basis of the settlement agreements reached by the parties, is approximately 600 million manats.

The expert also drew attention to the fact that the rights to freedom and personal integrity, to a fair trial, and to freedom of association are most often violated in Azerbaijan.