Your trusted source

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decided to lift the interim measure previously indicated in the case of Armenia v. Turkey concerning the war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

On 4 October the European Court received a request for an interim measure, lodged by Armenia against Turkey, in relation to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

On 6 October the court decided to apply Rule 39 of the Rules of Court for a second time (it applied Rule 39 for the first time in Armenia v. Azerbaijan case on 29 September). It called on all states directly or indirectly involved in the conflict, including Turkey, to refrain from actions that would contribute to breaches of the Convention rights of civilians and to respect their obligations under the Convention, the court said in a press release on Wednesday.

On 17 November the Government of Turkey requested that the court reconsider its decision and lift the second interim measure. They referred to the statement signed on 9 November 2020 by the president of Azerbaijan, the prime minister of Armenia and the president of Russia, declaring an end to hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with effect from midnight on 10 November 2020.

On 1 December the ECHR reconsidered the above application in the light of the information provided by the Government of Turkey and decided, in view of that information, to lift the interim measure indicated on 6 October 2020 in the case of Armenia v. Turkey.