{"id":632,"date":"2016-07-18T15:45:12","date_gmt":"2016-07-18T14:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rcstaging.co.uk\/ehrac\/?post_type=blog&p=632"},"modified":"2021-03-05T15:46:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T15:46:26","slug":"why-we-must-protect-and-save-the-european-court-of-human-rights","status":"publish","type":[32],"link":"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/blog\/why-we-must-protect-and-save-the-european-court-of-human-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Why we must protect and save the European Court of Human Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

The perspective of one of the first Chechen applicants to the European Court of Human Rights<\/strong> by Libkan Bazayeva<\/em><\/p>\n

As someone who has successfully applied to\u00a0the European Court of Human Rights,<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0year 2000 for me marked the beginning of\u00a0a period of hope for justice and the chance\u00a0of Government protection from human rights\u00a0violations. Residents of the Chechen Republic\u00a0and local leaders, who had tried to seek international\u00a0protection during the First Chechen\u00a0War (1994-96), had been unable to secure\u00a0formal means of internationally protecting\u00a0their rights. Thousands of crimes had not\u00a0been accorded adequate legal assessment,\u00a0and perpetrators went unpunished. This legal\u00a0dead-end drove the people of Chechnya to\u00a0desperation; we lost faith in the justice system\u00a0and the world\u2019s humanity.<\/p>\n

I remember how difficult it was to convince\u00a0people who had suffered severely as a result\u00a0of war crimes committed in Chechnya that\u00a0applying to the Strasbourg Court could lead\u00a0to something meaningful. Those affected\u00a0by the events, suffering because of the war,\u00a0witnessed daily how war crimes against the\u00a0people were going unpunished; worse still, the\u00a0Government was able to commit such violations\u00a0against specific individuals, protected\u00a0by the justification of combatting terrorism.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The year 2000 was a turning point in overcoming\u00a0our disillusionment and our fear that\u00a0applying for international protection could lead\u00a0to even harsher persecution and punishment\u00a0by the State. Of course, it is for this reason that\u00a0only those most convinced that we would have\u00a0to fight for justice embarked on this journey.\u00a0On the other hand, ordinary people \u2013 dispirited\u00a0by the war, living against a background of\u00a0habitual legal nihilism \u2013 were unable to believe\u00a0that this could be a chance for an objective\u00a0remedy, delivered by a fair court.<\/p>\n

The period from 2000 to 2006 was one of nascent\u00a0but mounting hope. It was a time when\u00a0only a few Chechen complaints were submitted\u00a0to the Court, underwent examination and\u00a0resulted in positive judgments. When the first\u00a0cases by the Strasbourg Court were decided\u00a0in favour of those who had suffered as a result\u00a0of unlawful military operations in Chechnya,\u00a0there was a dramatic shift in the mentality of\u00a0hundreds and thousands of victims, who had,\u00a0until that point, lost faith in justice.<\/p>\n

There was subsequently a sharp increase in\u00a0the number of applications submitted to the\u00a0Strasbourg Court. The positive precedent in\u00a0the Court\u2019s first decisions stimulated a growth\u00a0in people\u2019s legal understanding and demand\u00a0amongst the community and the State. This\u00a0was a significant long-term result.<\/p>\n

In a changing world, in which new conflicts\u00a0and hotspots are emerging, it is important to\u00a0preserve this institution, the European Court\u00a0of Human Rights. It is the only structure\u00a0which protects individuals from legal injustices\u00a0committed by the Russian State, which\u00a0often uses its powerful security resources\u00a0against its own people, asserting the priority\u00a0of State interests ahead of the interests of\u00a0the individual.<\/em><\/p>\n

The European Court of Human Rights,\u00a0along with the Committee of Ministers, will\u00a0soon become the only mechanism capable\u00a0of seeking to persuade States, which have\u00a0themselves signed Conventions and resolutions\u00a0stating that human rights are of the\u00a0highest value for contemporary humanity,\u00a0to implement these decisions. This is a way\u00a0of translating the legal standards advancing\u00a0democratic values from the legal abstract\u00a0into practical reality for societies and their\u00a0governments. The future of humanity relies\u00a0on human rights.<\/p>\n

EHRAC was founded in 2003 to take cases of\u00a0<\/em>human rights violations originating from the\u00a0<\/em>Chechen conflict, including indiscriminate\u00a0<\/em>bombings, enforced disappearances and\u00a0<\/em>extra-judicial killings. Six of these cases,\u00a0<\/em>including Libkan Bazayeva\u2019s, were decided\u00a0<\/em>on 24 February 2005, the very first from\u00a0<\/em>Chechnya to be decided by an international\u00a0<\/em>body. Libkan\u2019s car was hit by a bomb on 29\u00a0<\/em>October 1999 as she and her family were <\/em>trying to leave a suburb of Grozny to escape\u00a0<\/em>fighting between Chechen separatists and\u00a0<\/em>Russian State forces. Libkan applied to\u00a0<\/a><\/em>the Court, along with Medka Isayeva and\u00a0<\/em>Zina Yusupova (also victims of the bombing)\u00a0<\/em><\/a>in April 2000. <\/a>The Court found that\u00a0<\/em>Russia had failed in its duty to protect her\u00a0<\/em>right to life, in violation of Article 2 of the\u00a0<\/em>European Convention on Human Rights;\u00a0<\/em>according to the Court, the State had also\u00a0<\/em>failed to conduct an effective, objective and\u00a0<\/em>thorough investigation, therefore Libkan did\u00a0<\/em>not have access to an effective remedy, in\u00a0<\/em>violation of Article 13 in conjunction with\u00a0<\/em>the procedural limb of Article 2. Finally,\u00a0<\/em>given that Libkan\u2019s family\u2019s vehicles and\u00a0<\/em>household items had been destroyed as a\u00a0<\/em>result of the aerial attack, the Court found\u00a0<\/em>grave and unjustified interferences with her\u00a0<\/em>peaceful enjoyment of her possessions in\u00a0<\/em>violation of Article 1 of Protocol 1.<\/em><\/p>\n

This article appeared in the 25th issue of the EHRAC Legal Bulletin.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The perspective of one of the first Chechen applicants to the European Court of Human Rights by Libkan Bazayeva As someone who has successfully applied to\u00a0the European Court of Human…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":633,"parent":0,"menu_order":37,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"country":[41,26],"theme":[],"class_list":["post-632","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","country-north-caucasus","country-russia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy we must protect and save the European Court of Human Rights - European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/ehrac.org.uk\/en_gb\/blog\/why-we-must-protect-and-save-the-european-court-of-human-rights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why we must protect and save the European Court of Human Rights - 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