Grand Chamber ruling concerning an inter-State application
21/01/2021
The Court has delivered its judgment in the inter-State case of Georgia v. Russia (II) concerning allegations by the Georgian government that certain administrative practices of the Russian Federation had breached the Convention, in the context of the armed conflict between the two States in August 2008.
In the Court’s view, the events which took place during the active phase of the hostilities (8 to 12 August 2008) did not fall within the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. However, it held that the Russian Federation had exercised “effective control” over South Ossetia, Abkhazia and the “buffer zone” during the period from 12 August to 10 October 2008, the date of the official withdrawal of the Russian troops. After that period, the strong Russian presence and the South Ossetian and Abkhazian authorities’ dependency on the Russian Federation indicated that there had been continued “effective control” over South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Court therefore concluded that the events occurring after the cessation of hostilities – that is, following the ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008 – had fallen within the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. It found a number of violations of the Convention.
Press release Delivery of the judgment Webcast of the hearing (23/05/2018) Inter-States Applications
COVID-19
The French authorities have introduced a number of restrictions in the framework of the COVID-19 public-health crisis. The Court, while complying with the public-health measures adopted by our host State, in particular by prioritising teleworking and electronic communications, is continuing all its activities in accordance with the usual rules. Unlike during the previous lockdown periods, no special arrangements have been made in respect of procedures and time-limits.
Press conference
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Press conference 2021
26/01/2021
President Robert Spano will hold a press conference at 9 a.m. on Thursday 28 January 2021. It will be streamed live on Internet.
The President will give an overview of the Court’s activities in 2020 and present the statistics for the past year. Accompanied by Marialena Tsirli, Registrar of the Court, he will then take questions from journalists.
Live broadcast (from 9 a.m.)
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Grand Chamber
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Forthcoming ruling
26/01/2021The Court will be ruling in the Grand Chamber case of X and Others v. Bulgaria on 2 February 2021.
The case concerns allegations of the sexual abuse of three children in an orphanage in Bulgaria before their adoption by an Italian couple in June 2012.
Webcast of the hearing (15/01/2020)
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Elections
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Election of judges
26/01/2021
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has elected Andreas Zünd as judge to the Court in respect of Switzerland and Ioannis Ktistakis as judge to the Court in respect of Greece.
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Chamber
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Judgment concerning Ukraine
21/01/2021In the cases of Shmorgunov and Others v. Ukraine, Lutsenko and Verbytskyy v. Ukraine, Kadura and Smaliy v. Ukraine, Dubovtsev and Others v. Ukraine and Vorontsov and Others v. Ukraine, the Court has found multiple violations of the Convention, in particular of the right to life and the prohibition of torture.
These cases concerned the protests in Ukraine between November 2013 and February 2014, known as “Euromaidan” or “Maidan”, which led to the ousting of the President of Ukraine and a series of political and constitutional changes.
The 38 applicants had all had encounters with the police or non-State agents under police control (titushky). Their allegations had included police brutality, a denial of their right to protest, unjustified detention and one death.
Press release (in Ukrainian)
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Hearings
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Grand Chamber hearing concerning the Russian Federation
20/01/2021
The Court held a Grand Chamber hearing in the case of Khasanov and Rakhmanov v. Russia.
The case concerns the applicants’ allegation that they risked ill-treatment if extradited to Kyrgyzstan because they belonged to the Uzbek ethnic minority, who have been persecuted by the authorities since interethnic clashes in 2010.
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Hearings in January
22/12/2020The Court will be holding two Grand Chamber hearings in January 2021.
Khasanov and Rakhmanov v. Russia concerns the applicants’ allegation that they risked ill-treatment if extradited to Kyrgyzstan because they belonged to the Uzbek ethnic minority, who have been persecuted by the authorities since interethnic clashes in 2010.
Abdi Ibrahim v. Norway concerns the decision by the Norwegian authorities to allow the adoption of a child by a foster family against his mother’s wishes.
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Delivered Judgments & Decisions
Forthcoming Judgments & Decisions
28/01/2021