The Role of the ECHR and Other Human Rights Bodies During the Ukrainian Conflict, Its Eventual Settlement and Aftermath

60 Pages Posted: 17 Jun 2017

See all articles by Lilian Apostol

Lilian Apostol

University of Geneva - Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights; Bucharest Law University; Moldova State University

Date Written: April 25, 2017

Abstract

The present research looks into the inter-state and quasi-inter-state cases examined by the European Court of Human Rights (“the Court”) linking them with the context of Ukrainian conflict in Crimea and its Eastern part. It puts emphasis on the challenges that the Court has met in its previous cases, from the perspective of the States in dispute, and wonders on the outcomes of the Ukrainian inter-State and quasi-inter-State pending litigations. The paper observes briefly the executional perspectives and, finally, proposes some short-term scenarios of how these litigations may evolve.

It starts by a general introduction into the contexts and developments of inter-state and quasi-interstate adjudication under the European Convention on Human Rights (“the Convention”), underlining in particular aspects relevant for the pending Ukrainian disputes. Then it outlines the general question of extraterritorial States’ jurisdiction and the Court’s specific interpretation from the Convention Human Rights Law perspective, in comparison to general meaning as given by other international adjudication bodies. All relevant elements from both summaries are supported by the Court’s case-law leading cases.

Turning to the Ukrainian conflict situation, the paper surveys landmark Convention cases concerning the so-called “frozen conflicts”, reflecting rather the Court’s reasons between the lines and behind its official rulings; what tactic the Court usually employs dealing with the inter-States disputes and how these cases have been evolved so far under the Convention mechanism, including their execution stage. The paper will list similar zones with “on-going” and/or “frozen conflicts” that already gave raise to systemic problems and massive violations leading to multiple cases being brought before the Court (such as the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova; the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and its conflicting jurisdiction with Armenia; the Northern Cyprus region and the extensive jurisdiction of Turkey, as well as Abkhazia and South Ossetia, conflictual zones of Georgia). The author assesses how the autonomous interpretation of the jurisdiction under the Court’s case-law has been applied to all these cases and, therefore, what are the effects in terms of the state’s positive or negative obligations under the Convention in these zones. Then, the paper will illustrate types of cases and applications coming from conflictual zones, in particular inter-State cases and individual applications, which may become quasi-inter-States disputes.

In the end, the present paper dares to make some assumptions concerning a potential development of the Ukrainian human rights complaints brought before the Court (be that inter-State or quasi-inter-State cases). It will be mainly a hypothetical exercise and speculative scenario, which however will be construed on the above research and overview of the previous cases. It will refer solely to the on-going international disputes over the Crimea region and military conflicts in the Eastern regions of Ukraine, from jurisdictional perspective of both States in dispute. However, no valuable predictions will be possible concerning the merits of the Ukrainian cases and the executional reaction, though some general ideas and examples will be mentioned.

Keywords: European Court of Human Rights, Inter-State, Quasi-Inter-State, Ukrainian conflicts, Ukraine, Human Rights, European Convention, Jurisdiction

JEL Classification: K33

Suggested Citation

Apostol, Lilian, The Role of the ECHR and Other Human Rights Bodies During the Ukrainian Conflict, Its Eventual Settlement and Aftermath (April 25, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2982277 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2982277

Lilian Apostol (Contact Author)

University of Geneva - Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights ( email )

Villa Myonier
120B rue de Lausanne
Geneva, 1211
Switzerland

Bucharest Law University ( email )

Bucharest
Romania

Moldova State University ( email )

Alexei Mateevici St 60
Chisinau, Chisinau MD-2009
Moldova

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