“The civilized world accepts and gives vitality to the legal platform for solving problems. We lost on the political and military stage, and the only exclusive way to restore our rights is the legal one,” said Siranush Sahakyan, the representative of the interests of Armenian prisoners at the ECHR, during a press conference held at the Media Center on October 28.
The topic of the press conference is “Legal perspectives of the return of Artsakh Armenian and Armenian - Azerbaijani legal disputes in international courts.” The speakers are Siranush Sahakyan, head of the International and Comparative Law Center, representative of the interests of Armenian prisoners at the ECHR, and international law expert Philippe Raffi Kalfayan.
Philippe Raffi Kalfayan published a legal opinion analyzing the ongoing plight of the Armenian population of Artsakh after their forced displacement and the dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh.
Details below:
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Speaking about the exercise of the right to self-determination, Sahakyan noted that here we are going backwards. “The actual established statehood, which was just in the process of international recognition, has now been deprived of two important attributes: the territory and the population living in the given territory. It turns out that we have to return to a zero point, repopulate that area with Artsakh citizens, in order to state the implementation of the right to self-determination again.”
Referring to Armenian - Azerbaijani legal disputes in international courts, Sahakyan noted that now three platforms are used for this, that is, the UN International Court of Justice, where there is one lawsuit filed by Armenia against Azerbaijan, and one lawsuit filed by Azerbaijan against Armenia. The European Court of Human Rights, where 7 interstate cases are pending. Four complaints were filed by Armenia against Azerbaijan at ECHR, two by Azerbaijan against Armenia, and one by Armenia against Turkey. In addition to interstate cases, the NGO “International and Comparative Law Center ” submitted individual complaints of 400 persons to the ECHR.
The third platform is the International Court of Arbitration. There are exclusively Azeri lawsuits against the Republic of Armenia. They were initiated in 2023 and are based on the Convention, namely the Energy Charter Treaty and the Berne Convention, which is related to environmental issues. The main problem here is related to damage compensation.
"Arbitration processes have a stage of submitting claims for costs, where damages are assessed based on clear calculations. This may be about several tens of billions, but we can have certainty when the appropriate stage is ripe. There are deadlines. In November 2024 and February 2025, Azerbaijan should submit its final claims, and after that we will be able to start substantive discussions on factual and legal bases, risks and other issues," said Siranush Sahakyan.
Speaking about the rejection of interstate lawsuits, lawyer Raffi Kalfayan noted that if Armenia rejects the lawsuits, the policy of racism and hatred on the part of Azerbaijan will continue.
Siranush Sahakyan added:
"We have been defeated on the political and military front, and the only exclusive way to restore our rights is the legal one. Refusal to do so means that we are no longer capable of solving the problems related to us and the country, even by using legal means."
According to Kalfayan, legal ways can lead to political results.
"If Armenia is able to involve other states to enter into this interstate case, it will have a stronger position in the negotiations," the international law expert noted, stressing, "it is the duty of all Armenians to continue the struggle."