Over 1,000 Artsakh residents filed applications with  ECHR regarding  their return to their homeland and loss of property

ArmInfo. As of April 2026, the interests of over 1,000 Artsakh residents have been represented in over 500 applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

According to the press service of the Armenian Center for  International and Comparative Law, the complaints were collected and  submitted to the ECHR by the International Legal Initiative for  Artsakh, established in 2024. The Initiative reports on the losses  and human rights violations suffered by residents of the  Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).

 "As a result of forced displacement, thousands of people were  deprived of the opportunity to exercise their fundamental rights; the  right of Artsakh residents  to live in their homeland has been  violated, including the right to manage their property, which is  enshrined in Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention  on Human Rights. The immovable property, land plots, and other  possessions built or acquired by displaced Artsakh residents over the  years have come under Azerbaijani control, as a result of which they  have effectively been deprived of the opportunity to manage and use  them. Given these circumstances, the only effective legal avenue that  remains is to make use of the mechanisms of the European Court of  Human Rights. The process of applying to the ECHR is viewed not only  as a means of restoring individual justice, but also as an important  step toward raising and advancing, at the international level, the  issue of the collective right of return.

Within the framework of the process, the Initiative receives forcibly  displaced Artsakh residents who submit documents confirming their  place of residence in Artsakh, ownership of relevant property, and  other necessary documentation for the preparation of an individual  complaint to the ECHR. Each complaint also includes individual  stories about the loss of property, the circumstances of  displacement, as well as the severe and inhumane conditions created  during the blockade of Artsakh. The stories form a comprehensive  picture of collective displacement and the right of return. Often,  photographs of property and other media materials depicting the  personal lives of the affected persons prior to forced displacement  are also submitted as attachments to the complaints. The first  complaints were filed with the court in late 2024, and the process  gained wider coverage in 2025. As of April 2026, the interests of  more than 1,000 persons have been represented through more than 500  complaints. The main expectation of the applicants is the restoration  of justice through the recognition of violations by the court, which  can also serve as a basis for further. legal proceedings including  the exercise of the right of return. In addition to preparing and  submitting applications, the team is in constant contact with the  staff of the European Court.

 Based on the latter's suggestions, technical changes are also made  to the application process to ensure a more efficient and speedy  examination of cases. Cases with similar factual circumstances have  previously been examined by the European Court of Human Rights,  particularly within the framework of cases related to the conflicts  in Cyprus and Nagorno-Karabakh, where the Court has found violations  of the right to property and other Convention rights, thereby  establishing important precedents for the present applications. The  initiative's team continues its work with the aim of supporting all  displaced persons who wish to apply to the ECHR for the recognition  of their violated rights, while also contributing to the formation  and advancement of the international issue concerning the collective  right of return of the people of Artsakh," the Center for National  and Comparative Law concluded.

It should be noted that on April 16, 2026, the European Court of  Human Rights obliged Azerbaijan to provide copies of verdicts in the  cases of Armenian prisoners of war held in Baku by August 31.