Week-ending 6 November 2020
This week there were two judgments by the European Court of Human Rights concerning Russia: Parfentyev v. Russia and Matyunina v. Russia, both of 3 November 2020. The rulings concerned Article 6 (Right to a Fair Trial), Article 8 (Right to respect for private and family life) and Article 34 (Individual applications) of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
Parfentyev v. Russia: a violation of Article 8 of the Convention; the respondent State has failed to comply with its obligations under Article 34 of the Convention; the respondent State is to pay the applicant, within three months, the following amounts: EUR 2,600, plus any tax that may be chargeable, in respect of non-pecuniary damage; EUR 1,000, plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant, in respect of costs and expenses.
Matyunina v. Russia: a violation of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention; the respondent State is to pay the applicant, within three months, the following amounts: EUR 2,000, plus any tax that may be chargeable, in respect of non-pecuniary damage.
This week marked the 70th anniversary of the birth of the European Convention on Human Rights. The European Convention on Human Rights was signed in Rome on 4 November 1950. It was the first instrument to crystallise and give binding effect to the rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It lays down absolute rights which can never be breached by the States, such as the right to life or the prohibition of torture, and it protects certain rights and freedoms which can only be restricted by law when necessary in a democratic society, for example the right to liberty and security or the right to respect for private and family life. A number of rights have been added to the initial text with the adoption of additional protocols, concerning in particular the abolition of the death penalty, the protection of property, the right to free elections or freedom of movement.
The European Convention on Human Rights can be read here.
