This week, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe at its quarterly session on the execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights has considered the case Chiragov and Others against Armenia which concerns the property rights of six Azerbaijani nationals forced to flee from their homes during the active military phase of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (1992-94). See the decision in this case at https://search.coe.int/cm/eng?i=0900001680b1903c and below.
Decisions
The Deputies
1. recalled that this case concerns the property rights of six Azerbaijani nationals forced to flee from their homes during the active military phase of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (1992-94);
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2. recalled further that in its judgment on just satisfaction of 12 December 2017 in this case the Court held that Armenia was to pay the applicants or their next-of-kin within three months certain sums in respect of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as the costs and expenses;
3. welcomed the Armenian authorities’ recent written confirmation that they accept the terms and conditions and are ready to sign the draft Memorandum of Understanding prepared by the Secretariat, to enable payment of the just satisfaction awarded by the Court and default interest accrued to take place through a Council of Europe bank account;
4. noting that in line with the draft Memorandum of Understanding, the signature and payment are dependent on the receipt of a reciprocal clear indication from the Azerbaijani authorities of their readiness to make the payment of the just satisfaction in the Sargsyan case;
5. strongly underlined the unconditional obligation under Article 46 § 1 of the Convention on respondent states to fully and effectively execute all judgments against them, including their unconditional obligation to pay the sums of just satisfaction awarded by the European Court;
6. therefore, in the event that the consultations on the draft Memorandums of Understanding do not rapidly produce concrete results, encouraged the Armenian authorities to proceed with the payment of the sums owing under the Chiragov (just satisfaction) judgment directly to the applicants or their next-of-kin;
7. decided to resume consideration of the present case at their 1514th meeting (December 2024) (DH).
The Committee of Ministers has also examined the case of Sargsyan v. Azerbaijan which concerns the property rights of a refugee of Armenian origin who was forced to flee from his home during the active military phase of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (1992-94). See the decision at https://search.coe.int/cm/eng?i=0900001680b19042 and below.
The Deputies
1. recalled that this case concerns the property rights of a refugee of Armenian origin who was forced to flee from his home during the active military phase of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (1992-94);
2. recalled further that in its judgment on just satisfaction of 12 December 2017 in this case the Court held that Azerbaijan was to pay the applicant’s next-of-kin within three months certain sums in respect of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as the costs and expenses;
3. noted the indication by the authorities of Azerbaijan that they require more time for assessment of the possible implications of the text of the Memorandum of Understanding prepared by the Secretariat, to enable payment of the just satisfaction awarded by the Court and default interest accrued, to take place through a Council of Europe bank account;
4. strongly underlined the unconditional obligation under Article 46 § 1 of the Convention on respondent states to fully and effectively execute all judgments against them, including their unconditional obligation to pay the sums of just satisfaction awarded by the European Court;
5. therefore, in the event that the consultations on the draft Memorandums of Understanding do not rapidly produce concrete results, encouraged the authorities of Azerbaijan to proceed with the payment of the sums owing under the Sargsyan (just satisfaction) judgment directly to the applicant’s next-of-kin;
6. decided to resume consideration of the present case at their 1514th meeting (December 2024) (DH).
