Igor Crnadak, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and current Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, is sure the Nagorny Karabakh conflict should be settled within OSCE Minsk Group irrespective of ECHR's rulings. The remarks came from Crnadak at the opening ceremony of the PACE Summer Session on June 22 in response to the question by Ganira Pashaeva, a representative of the Azeri delegation to PACE, concerning the ECHR's ruling on Chiragov vs. Armenia case. Crnadak recalled that the ECHR issued a similar judgment on the Sargsyan vs Azerbaijan case.
Igor Crnadak said the Committee of Ministers is closely following the execution of the ECHR's rulings. He recalled that the OSCE Minsk Group is authorized to mediate the conflict's settlement, and Armenia and Azerbaijan undertook commitments to the Council of Europe to resolve the conflict by peace methods only.
On June 16, Grand Chamber's judgment1 in the case of Sargsyan vs. Azerbaijan (application no. 40167/06) the European Court of Human Rights held, by a majority, that there had been: a continuing violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) to the European Convention on Human Rights; a continuing violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the Convention; and a continuing violation of Article 13 (right to an effective remedy).
The case concerned an Armenian refugee's complaint that, after having been forced to flee from his home in the Shahumyan region of Azerbaijan in 1992 during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, he had since been denied the right to return to his village and to have access to and use his property there.
On the same day, Grand Chamber's judgment1 in the case of Chiragov and Others v. Armenia the European Court of Human Rights held, by a majority, that there had been: a continuing violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) to the European Convention on Human Rights; a continuing violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the Convention; and a continuing violation of Article 13 (right to an effective remedy).
The case concerned the complaints by six Azerbaijani refugees that they were unable to return to their homes and property in the district of Lachin, from where they had been forced to flee in 1992 during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno- Karabakh. The Court considered that there was no justification for denying the applicants access to their property without providing them with compensation.
Afterwards, the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan issues a statement saying "the Court's ruling has put en end to denial of occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia and the presence of its armed forces in the occupied territories."
Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian, in turn, said the negotiations for settlement of the Karabakh conflict are not held either within the framework or under aegis of the ECHR. Neither they are brokered by it. "The OSCE Minsk Group is the only format that has a mandate to engage in the settlement of the conflict. The ruling in Chiragov's case is an individual case that cannot influence the peace process. Azerbaijan's speculations on the ECHR's ruling can undermine the negotiations," Nalbandian said.