Unfortunately, International Justice is Working Slowly: Vladimir Vardanyan at the PACE

If we were to continue having a situation where several countries are allowed not to comply with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, and not to follow the interim measures adopted by the Court, it would mean not only the end of the Court but also the end of the existence of the European Parliament. This statement was made today by Vladimir Vardanyan, a member of the National Assembly of Armenia and of the ‘Civil Contract’ faction, during his speech at the PACE.

The MP raised a rhetorical question of why the issue of the execution, or more precisely, the non-execution of the ECHR’s decisions is still being discussed 70 years after the establishment of the ECHR and the European Parliament.

“Why can we not still tell countries, you know, if you do not comply with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, which is a taboo, then your days in this organization are numbered? Very often, we actually fear various events taking place in different countries,” the MP stated.

He addressed the members of the Council of Europe, questioning how much longer they are willing to tolerate a situation where politicians disrupt the existence of the international judicial system through their inaction.

“Unfortunately, international justice works slowly, and very often it is necessary to implement interim measures to achieve real justice, which often serve as a basis for such or such final resolution,” Vardanyan noted.

He reminded that just a few days ago, the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights adopted interim measures regarding the situation in the Lachin corridor, calling on Azerbaijan to immediately restore traffic in the Lachin corridor.

“Do we have any response or any proper response? The inaction of politicians will disrupt the existence of the international judicial system. And without the international judicial system, we cannot move forward, as our organization was established to protect human rights,” Vardanyan emphasized.