NGOs under European Convention on Human Rights / Tymofeyeva

CHAPTER II RIGHTS OF ARTICLE 34 NGOs UNDER THE CONVENTION

In summary, NGOs must be seen in a broader social and political perspective. Michael Edwards 514

PART I. 2.1 Introductory remarks on the list of rights

Before starting the description of the rights of non-governmental organisations in the sense of Article 34 of the Convention, it would be of use to repeat the definition of Article 34 NGOs proposed for the purposes of this book. Article 34 NGO is a profit or non-profit making legal entity, with or without formal existence, which does not directly participate in the exercise of governmental powers, has a sufficient degree of independence from governmental control and has victim status in accordance with the Court’s case-law. The expression ‘legal entity’ in the present text is a general term, which covers both a formally existing organisation and an organisation not legally registered or recognised by the CoE member state. It should be distinguished from the concept of a ‘legal person’, which only includes the subjects that have received official recognition by the state authorities. Victim status is a basic requirement to seek the protection of the Convention. 515 To remind the reader, the case-law of the Court distinguishes three types of victims: direct, 516 indirect 517 and potential victims. 518 Subjects do not have the status of the victim, unless they have proved a direct effect of the measures concerning its members on its activities. In the case of Nassau Verzekering Maatschappij NV v. the Netherlands , 519 the Court stated that the applicant company did not have the status of a victim, and therefore dismissed the application ratione personae, because the company did not directly participate in the proceedings it complained about. In the present case, the applicant company represented the interests of H. under the power of attorney and claimed before the Court a violation of the right of access to a court under Article 6 of the Convention, complaining that H. was not able invoke the 514 EDVARDS, M. and HULME, D. Non-Governmental Organisations – Performance and Accountability: Beyond the Magic Bullet: NGO Accountability and Performance in the Post Colonial World. Routledge, 1995, pp. 36-37. 515 BOYLE, K. The European Experience: The European Convention on Human Rights. Human Rights Centre, University of Essex, United Kingdom (online), p. 170. URL: accessed 20 February 2015 and Bringing a case to the European Court of Human Rights, cited above, p. 14. 516 For example, the applicant in the East West Alliance Limited, cited above. 517 For instance, the applicant in McCann, cited above. 518 See, Open Door and Dublin Well Woman, cited above. 519 Nassau Verzekering Maatschappij N.V. v. the Netherlands (dec.), application no. 57602/09.

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