UDC 323.173: 341.645(4)(479.243)
Biblid: 0025-8555, 73(2021)
Vol. 73, No 1, pp. 106-123
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2298/MEDJP2101106N

Оriginal article
Received: 14 Dec 2020
Accepted: 08 Feb 2021

NAGORNO-KARABAKH IN THE JURISPRUDENCE OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

NIKOLIĆ Aleksa (Asistent na Pravnom fakultetu Univerziteta u Beogradu), aleksa.nikolic@ius.bg.ac.rs

The paper analyses the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh from the point of view of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) regarding the violation of human rights of the warring parties directly related to the disputed territory. The European system of human rights protection is one of the greatest European achievements in the field of law, especially if we keep in mind that its judgments are binding on the signatories of the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms (ECHR), thus giving it suprajudicial power. Through the analysis of two cases, Sargsyan vs Azerbaijan and Chiragov and others vs Armenia, the Court addressed some very interesting issues that may encourage different interpretations of the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms (ECHR), but also directly affect the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In this regard, the analysis of the (non) existence of the right of the people of NagornoKarabakh to self-determination is especially interesting and significant. The author concludes that the ECtHR in its judgments has taken certain positions that may be of great importance in resolving the status of Nagorno-Karabakh before the international community and international organisations.

Keywords: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, European Court of Human Rights, case law, the right to property, constitutionalisation of international law