ArticlePDF Available

The highest amounts of just satisfaction: Awards of the european court of human rights to legal persons

January 2015

Authors:

Alla Tymofeyeva

Charles University in Prague

The author offers an overview of the ten judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter ‘the Court’), in which it awarded to legal persons the highest amounts of just satisfact ion in the Court’s history. The study is focused on those compensations exceeding one million euros; the highest of the awards, in the Yukos case, is even in billions of euros. Further, the analysis of these judgments seeks to discover the common and distinct features of the awards. In addition, the author enquires into why the just satisfaction amounts honoured to legal persons are higher than those admitted to natural persons. The article also provides basic information on the compensation mechanism under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Content uploaded by Alla Tymofeyeva

Content may be subject to copyright.

Content uploaded by Alla Tymofeyeva

Content may be subject to copyright.

A preview of the PDF is not available

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.

ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Lidská práva právnických osob dle EÚLP Human rights of legal persons under the ECHR

December 2018

Alla Tymofeyeva

Abstrakt - Cílem článku je dát krátkou charakteristiku postavení právnických osob v mechanismu ochrany lidských práv, nabízených EÚLP. Analýza rozsudků ESLP ukazuje, že právnické osoby se mohou stěžovat na porušení čl. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 a 14 EÚLP, čl. 1 a 3 Protokolu č. 1, čl. 2, 3 a 4 Protokolu č. 7 a čl.1 Protokolu č. 12 k EÚLP. V některých případech lze mluvit také o aplikaci čl. 17 ... [Show full abstract] EÚLP. V červenci 2014 ESLP konstatoval porušení práva na život ve věci, kde stěžovatelem byla právnická osoba. S ohledem na toto lze hovořit o tom, že seznam výše zmíněných práv může být překvapivě větší. Pokud jde o spravedlivé zadostiučinění, jež se dostává právnických osobám, zde ESLP také v červenci tohoto roku šokoval veřejnost, když přiznal akcionářům společnosti „Neftyanaya Kompaniya Yukos“ odškodné ve výši téměř dvou miliard eur. - Abstract - The aim of this article is to provide a brief characterization of the status of legal persons in the mechanism of human rights protection under the ECHR. Analysis of the case-law of the ECtHR shows that they may submit applications alleging violations of Art. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 14 of the ECHR, Art. 1 and 3 of Protocol No. 1, Art. 2, 3 and 4 of Protocol No. 7 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 to the ECHR. In certain cases Art. 17 of the ECHR can also be involved. In July 2014 the ECtHR found a violation of the right to life in a case, where the complaint was lodged by a legal person. It is therefore possible to conclude that the list of the above rights may be surprisingly longer. As regards a just satisfaction receiving by legal persons, the ECtHR in July this year shocked the public, when it awarded to the shareholders of “Neftyanaya OOO Yukos” a compensation amounting to nearly two billion euro.

Article

Full-text available

What price for human rights? Compensating human rights violations – ESRC

November 2017 · Impact

Veronika Fikfak

When individuals are mistreated by European governments, the European Court of Human Rights is responsible for reviewing state actions under the European Convention of Human Rights. If the individuals are successful in proving a violation, the ECtHR may award them damages for the treatment suffered. Whilst domestic courts of the 47 Council of Europe (COE) Member States, over which the Court has ... [Show full abstract] jurisdiction, usually award damages on the basis of scales that are public, this is not the case with the ECtHR. The Court sets out no rules or guidelines as to when individuals are likely to get compensation; it also does not explain which elements of their treatment applicants should emphasise nor how much they should ask for. There is no information about maximum or minimum amounts awarded to individuals for specific violations nor about how claims in one case might compare to those in other cases. Often, individuals turning to the Court ask for millions of euros in damages, but only receive a few thousand. Many scholars insist that in the human rights context damages can play a crucial role in ensuring individual justice. The process of according compensation focuses the proceedings before the court on the individual, the victim of the violation and allows him/her the vindication of their rights. But the current practice of the Court appears arbitrary and opaque. In response to demands from practice (lawyers who represent victims of rights violations and national judges who enforce judgments of the Court), this project seeks to fill the gap created by the ECtHR practice for the first time. Through an empirical quantitative and qualitative study of the last ten years of caselaw relating to just satisfaction, the project will discern the legal principles from the practice of the Court and critically assess the Court's role in awarding compensation for human rights violations.

Book

Full-text available

Non-governmental organisations under the European Convention on Human Rights

November 2022

Alla Tymofeyeva

The aim of the monograph is to supply legal scholars, practitioners and applicants with an in-depth insight into (tools to go about answering) the question of what position non-governmental organisations hold in proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Court”). It begins by explaining how the term “non-governmental organisation” is understood in the doctrine of ... [Show full abstract] international law and human right treaties all over the world. It concludes that the notion in question embraces all types of legal entities, from small non-profit organisations to large transnational corporations, with or without legal personality. Analysis of the case-law of the Court has shown that these non-governmental organisations, as direct victims, may only lodge with the Court their complaints alleging a violation of those rights and freedoms that are not reserved for natural persons. They include Articles 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 of the Convention; Articles 1 and 3 of Protocol No. 1; Articles 2, 3 and 4 of Protocol No. 7 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 to the Convention. All relevant judgments and decisions are described in separate sections of Chapter II of this book. The author pays special attention to the just satisfaction mechanism under the Convention in respect of these subjects. Practice proves that the amounts of just satisfaction awarded to them by the Court were millions or even billions of Euros. To summarise, the present book is the first complex research paper in international law concerning NGOs position in proceedings before the Court. It is a valuable contribution to the theory of human rights which, by the comprehensive manner as it is written, is accessible not only to human rights experts, but also to the general public.

Chapter

Full-text available

HUMAN RIGHTS OF OLDER PERSONS IN THE CASE LAW OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

August 2022

Alla Tymofeyeva

The objective of this paper is to analyse the current international legal framework applicable to older persons in the context of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and evaluate whether it is suffi cient for the purposes of the protection of their human rights. The author will first elaborate on the defi nition of older persons based on the text of the European Convention ... [Show full abstract] on Human Rights (ECHR) with the goal of elucidating the primary research question. Next, the article will discuss the human rights of the elderly under the ECHR. Lastly, the manuscript will disclose the legal standing of older persons in proceedings before the ECtHR to include their special needs; as well as, their vulnerability. The issue of whether the ECHR standards on the protection of older persons' rights are already suffi cient or if there is a need to adopt a special treaty on the subject within the Council of Europe (CoE) will be highlighted in the Conclusions. Resumé: Cílem tohoto článku je provést analýzu současné právní úpravy lidských práv starších osob v kontextu judikatury Evropského soudu pro lidská práva (ESLP) a posoudit, zda je tato úprava postačující. Za účelem dosažení tohoto cíle se autorka za prvé zaměří na defi nici pojmu "starší osoby", založenou na textu Evropské úmluvy o lidských právech (EÚLP). Za druhé se článek bude zabývat lidskými právy starších osob v rámci mechanismu EÚLP. Za třetí se soustředí na právní postavení starších osob v řízení před ESLP, včetně jejich zvláštních potřeb, jakožto i zranitelnosti. Odpověď na otázku, zda jsou normy EÚLP týkající se ochrany práv starších osob postačující, nebo zda je zapotřebí přijmout k tomu zvláštní smlouvu v rámci Rady Evropy, bude poskytnuta v závěrech článku.

Article

Full-text available

The Human Embryo in the Case-Law of the European Court of Human Rights

January 2017 · SSRN Electronic Journal

Alla Tymofeyeva

This paper presents an analysis of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the status of a human embryo. At the beginning, the author makes an overview of the legal documents on the subject-matter produced by intergovernmental organisations on both universal and regional levels. The overview covers also a national legislation of Australia, China, Japan, United States and most ... [Show full abstract] of the European states. Further the paper elaborates on the decisions and judgments of the European Court adopted for the last fifty five years. The summary of this case-law is provided in a chronological order from the oldest to the newest one. Finally, the author comments on the practice of the European Court of Human Rights with regard to the issue of the human embryo legal position. The case-law in question certifies that human embryo cannot be considered “a thing”, but at the same time it is still not “a person” for the purposes of the Article 2 of the Convention.