NGOs under European Convention on Human Rights / Tymofeyeva

of this finding were seen in the cases of Východoslovenská vodárenská spoločnosť, a.s. v. Slovakia 200 and Transpetrol, a.s. v. Slovakia . 201 Taking into account all of the above-mentioned considerations, it is possible to conclude that the phrase ‘group of individuals’ may be utilised differently in different contexts, and it is impossible to draw a definite line between the terms ‘non governmental organisation’ and ‘group of individuals’. Consequently, when applying to the Court it is best to employ King Solomon’s solution by using the experience of Mr. Harold Evans: 202 submit a number of application forms under each category of applicants. 1.2.1.2 Victim status In order to be able to lodge a complaint with the Court the applicant must be a victim. This is one of the key criteria for evaluating the admissibility of the application form; therefore, a comprehensive analysis of this notion is required. The word ‘victim’ has an autonomous meaning in the Convention and signifies the capacity to take part in or bring proceedings before the Court. 203 It is interpreted independently from any domestic law concepts. The case-law of the Court distinguishes three main types of victims: 1) direct victim, 2) indirect victim and 3) potential victim. 204 The difference between the first and the second terms is quite clear. In the case of a direct victim , the applicant must be the one who suffered from a breach of human rights. 205 The phrase of ‘ indirect victim’ means that the applicant was not directly affected by the alleged breach of the Convention, but only has a crystal-clear link with the direct victim. The third type, potential victim , refers to applicants who were not directly or indirectly influenced by the possible infringement of their rights, but who face a real risk of being directly affected considering the legislation in the state or the practice of governmental officials. In order to make the given explanation more lucid in the context of the current study, a more detailed description of each type of victim, specifically with regard to non-governmental organisations, is required. Direct victim NGO in the sense of Article 34 of the Convention is a direct victim when it is personally affected by the alleged infringement of the Convention. Obviously, when an applicant NGO took part in the proceeding before the domestic courts, which are not in compliance with the fair trial requirement, the NGO is entitled to complain

200 Východoslovenská vodárenská spoločnosť (dec.), cited above. 201 Transpetrol (dec.), cited above. 202 Times Newspaper Ltd, (dec.), cited above. 203 HARRIS, 2009, cited above, p. 790.

204 Bringing a case to the EuropeanCourt of HumanRights: a practical guide on admissibility criteria [2nd ed.] , European Court of Human Rights. Research and Library Division, Strasbourg: European Court of Human Rights; Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers (WLP), 2011, p.12. On-line verson of the book is available from URL: accessed 20 July 2015. 205 Minority Rights under the European Convention on Human Right, cited above.

47