ECHR rejects Azerbaijan’s appeal against Armenia in case concerning the Four-Day War

On November 2, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), sitting as a five-judge panel, rejected Azerbaijan’s request to refer the April 2016 four-day war case to the Grand Chamber. The Court had previously ruled in favour of Armenian applicants. Liparit Drmeyan, former head of the Office of the Representative of Armenia on International Legal Matters, announced this on his Facebook page.

“Thus, the Court’s judgment of June 18 has become final and will serve as a landmark precedent in the examination of similar pending and future applications.

Azerbaijan, which has declared at the highest level that it does not recognise the ECHR’s jurisdiction and has suspended its cooperation with the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, nevertheless remembers the importance of legal proceedings when it suits its interests and submits appeals,” Drmeyan noted.

It should be recalled that the European Court of Human Rights delivered its first judgment in cases concerning the Four-Day War on June 18.

The Court found that Azerbaijan had violated an Armenian serviceman’s right to life and the prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment, in connection with his beheading and the desecration of his body.

The ECHR ordered Azerbaijan to pay €90,000 in compensation to the victim’s relatives.

“This is an important precedent for applications seeking to protect the rights of those affected by the 44-day war of 2020,” Drmeyan wrote.