NGOs under European Convention on Human Rights / Tymofeyeva

they had no possibility to receive legal recognition in the CoE member state. It was mentioned that this kind of proceeding before the Court may be instituted, whether by the NGO in the meaning of Article 34 of the Convention alone 262 or together with its former members 263 or by the individuals unsuccessful in setting up the legal entity. 264 It is of interest to know what requirements apply to the person who submits an application in respect of an NGO, the activity of which is not yet terminated, but is already subject to liquidation proceedings. NGO in liquidation and the rights of shareholders When an NGO is under the liquidation proceedings, it still may apply to the Court through its liquidator. 265 The Court dealt with this issue in the case of Association Cultuelle du Temple Pyramide v. France . 266 In the present case, the French government considered that the liquidator of the association did not have the capacity to act before the Court as it was beyond the limits of its powers. The Court observed that in the proceedings before the national courts, the applicant association was represented by the liquidator. The legitimacy of such a representation was admitted by the domestic courts. They confirmed that the legal personality of a dissolved association existed for purposes of the liquidation. Consequently, the liquidator could validly represent this organisation before the Court. As a result, the Court declared the application admissible. The different situation occurred in the case of Geneviève de Morlan and Unic Company Services v. France . 267 Here, the applicant company was also in the process of liquidation. However, distinct from the previous case, the manager of the society, Ms Geneviève de Morlan, submitted the application to the Court, on her own behalf and on behalf of the applicant company. In the course of its argumentation, the Court noted that only the applicant company was a party to the domestic proceedings, but not its manager. Moreover, the latter did not submit to the Court a power of attorney signed by the applicant company and, therefore, did not act properly before the Court. Furthermore, a liquidator had been appointed to represent the company’s interests in 1992. The Court highlighted that only he was empowered to lodge a complaint with the Court. Even if the manager had been empowered to act on behalf of the applicant company before its liquidation, she no longer had such status at the time of filing the application. Consequently, the application was incompatible ratione personae within the provisions of the Convention under Article 35 § 3. For the victim status of an NGO, it is important to distinguish between the rights of companies in the capacity of shareholders and the rights of the companies themselves. The Court confirmed in its case-law that the company as a shareholder has the right to protection under the Convention only in the case where the main company ceased to 262 Biblical Centre of the Chuvash Republic , cited above, § 1 and Eğitim ve Bilim Emekçileri Sendikası , cited above, § 1. 263 Tüm Haber Sen and Çınar , cited above, § 1. 264 Linkov v. the Czech Republic , no. 10504/03, 7 December 2006. 265 Agrotexim and Others v. Greece , 24 October 1995, Series a no. 330-A. 266 Association Cultuelle du Temple Pyramide v. France , no. 50471/07, §§ 23-31, 31 January 2013. 267 Geneviève de Morlan and Unic Company Services v. France (dec.), no 42724/98, 30 November 1999.

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