The number of appeals filed by Armenians in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) continued to fall rapidly last year, the Strasbourg-based tribunal said on Thursday.
“For Armenia, the number of new applications allocated to a judicial formation was 167, more than a two-fold decrease as compared to 356 in 2017,” the ECHR said in an annual report presented by its president, Guido Raimondi, at a news conference.
The ECHR recorded 753 lawsuits from Armenia in 2016.
Armenia fell under the European court’s jurisdiction when it joined the Council of Europe in 2001. Its government lost the first case in Strasbourg in 2007.
The ECHR has ruled against various Armenian government, judicial and law-enforcement bodies on 94 occasions since then, costing them more than $1.2 million in damages. “The highest number of violations related to the right to a fair trial, and right to liberty and security,” says its report.
The ECHR handed down 15 rulings against the Armenian state in 2018, up from 11 such judgments in 2017.
“By January 1, 2019, there were 1,901 cases pending for Armenia, a small increase as compared to 1,819 in 2017. Armenia has remained in the top-ten states by the number of pending applications,” says the report.
The large number of lawsuits reflects a lack of judicial independence and corruption among law-enforcement officers and judges in Armenia.
The current Armenian authorities have repeatedly pledged to address the problem since they came to power in a democratic revolution in May. Their critics claim, however, that just like their predecessors, they pressure courts to side with prosecutors in high-profile criminal cases. Government officials -- and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in particular -- strongly deny this.
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