ArmInfo. The European Court for Human Rights on an expedited basis instituted proceedings on 22 cases against Azerbaijan on violations of international conventions during the April war. The ECHR recognized these cases as priority and acceptable and sent to the government of Azerbaijan for objections.
In 2016, in connection with human rights violations during the four-day war, 385 complaints were submitted to the ECHR on behalf of the residents of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh - 22 complaints of inhuman treatment of the complainants, torture of the dead, lack of respect for the dead, and violations of rights based on discrimination based on nationality. The Government of Azerbaijan submitted objections to these 22 cases, to which answers were given. Currently, all procedures are completed and pending decisions on these cases.
The remaining 363 complaints relate to the damage or destruction of civilian property as a result of the shelling of settlements near the contact line, as well as potential violations of the right to life.
After the April war citizens of Azerbaijan also filed numerous complaints against the Republic of Armenia.
The European Court of Human Rights, at its discretion, chose one complaint from the package of complaints against Armenia and Azerbaijan, and, having considered, rejected them. Khudunts presented the property documents of the house and the land plot, but could not substantiate that his property was damaged as a result of the bombing, and Aranov did not submit documents substantiating his right to property. The court in both cases applied the prima facie standard of proof.
A group of human rights lawyers issued a statement regarding violations of international humanitarian and legal norms by Azerbaijan during the April war. The statement, in particular, reads: It must be noted that cases of human rights violations during the April war are similar to numerous cases received by the European Court of Human Rights in connection with the conflicts in South Ossetia and in Ukraine, as a result of which the principles applied by the court, including the evidence threshold of conflict damage, evidentiary criteria are already formed. From this point of view, the court decision in the Khudunts v. Azerbaijan case is within the judicial policy of the European Court of Human Rights and has no targeted deviations.
It should also be noted that the recognition of these two complaints as inadmissible does not mean that all other cases will deserve the same fate. Each case is subject to review by the European Court in a comparison of its actual circumstances and evidence, taking into account the fundamental principles of the European Convention on Human Rights. The working group will periodically provide additional information on the fate of each of the complaints that are under consideration>, the statement reads.