CYIL vol. 13 (2022)

ALLA TYMOFEYEVA

CYIL 13 ȍ2022Ȏ

1. Main principles of just satisfaction under the ECHR To begin with, it must be noted that the reparation mechanism provided by the ECHR is one of the most elaborated in the world. 13 The key of its success is the obligatory force of the ECtHR’s judgments and the effective work of the Committee of Ministers, which plays the role of the CoE ‘bailiff’. 14 Human rights standards establish the obligation to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and to provide reparation to victims. 15 The general principles of reparations under the ECHR were described by the ECtHR, inter alia , in the case of Oleksandr Volkov v. Ukraine : 193. In the context of the execution of judgments in accordance with Article 46 of the Convention, a judgment in which the Court finds a breach of the Convention imposes on the respondent State a legal obligation under that provision to put an end to the breach and to make reparation for its consequences in such a way as to restore as far as possible the situation existing before the breach. If, on the other hand, national law does not allow – or allows only partial – reparation to be made for the consequences of the breach, Article 41 empowers the Court to afford the injured party such satisfaction as appears to it to be appropriate. It follows, inter alia, that a judgment in which the Court finds a violation of the Convention or its Protocols imposes on the respondent State a legal obligation not just to pay those concerned the sums awarded by way of just satisfaction, but also to choose, subject to supervision by the Committee of Ministers, the general and/or, if appropriate, individual measures to be adopted in its domestic legal order to put an end to the violation found by the Court and make all feasible reparation for its consequences in such a way as to restore as far as possible the situation existing before the breach. 16 It is possible to summarise these principles by saying that if the ECtHR finds a violation of the ECHR in its judgment, it may order the respondent state to pay the applicant a just satisfaction, which usually corresponds to a certain sum of money. Apart from this, the ECtHR may also conclude that the most appropriate form of redress for the respondent contracting party is to take specific action, such as to grant the applicant a re-trial, release them from prison, provide full and free medical coverage, and many others. Generally speaking, the ECtHR may award different types of reparations consisting of concrete measures, monetary awards, or both. The details on the subject-matter will be provided in the next part of the paper starting with basic requirements for awarding just satisfaction. 13 The comparison on the different mechanisms of reparation may be found in a ground study by Prof. Šturma; as to mechanism of reparation under the ECHR see TYMOFEYEVA, A., BLŠŤÁKOVÁ, T. Just satisfaction under the European Convention on Human Rights. In: ŠTURMA, P. Compensation in international law . Studies in International Law. No. 5 (28). Prague: Charles University in Prague, 2013. 14 LAMBERT-ABDELGAWAD, E. The execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights . Strasbourg: Council of Europe Pub., 2008, p. 36. 15 VIAENE, L. and BREMS, E. Transitional justice and cultural contexts: learning from the universality debate. 28 Neth. Q. Hum. Rts . 199 2010, p. 202. 16 Oleksandr Volkov v. Ukraine, no. 21722/11, § 193, ECHR 2013.

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