Execution of the judgment in the case of Ilascu against Moldova and the Russian Federation

Doc. 10740

10 November 2005

Execution of the judgment in the case of Ilaşcu against Moldova and the Russian Federation

Written question No 476 to the Committee of Ministers

Reply from the Committee of Ministers

adopted at the 945^th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (9 November 2005)

I. Written Question No. 476 by Mr Jurgens (Doc. 10710)

Mr Jurgens,

In view of the persistent failure of the respondent States to execute the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Ilaşcu and others against Moldova and the Russian Federation (Grand Chamber judgment of 8^th July 2004 where the Court ordered that all necessary measures be taken to put an end to the arbitrary detention of the applicants still imprisoned and secure their immediate release), and referring to Interim Resolutions ResDH (2005)42 and ResDH (2005)84,

Deploring the fact that the Russian authorities continue to call into question the validity of the judgment and recalling that the obligation to abide by the judgments of the Court is unconditional,

To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers,

whether it would be appropriate for the Russian Federation to take up the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers as of May 2006, and the Chairmanship of the Deputies’ special human rights meetings on the supervision of the execution of the Strasbourg Court judgments as of November 2005, in view of the Russian Federation’s protracted refusal to execute in full a binding judgment of the European Court of Human Rights.

II. Reply by the Committee of Ministers

1. The Chairman recalls that the Committee of Ministers has consistently reiterated that the obligation under Article 46, paragraph 2, of the European Convention on Human Rights to abide by the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights is unconditional.

2. This position is reflected in two interim resolutions (Interim Resolutions ResDH(2005)42 and ResDH(2005)84) concerning the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of 8 July 2004 (Grand Chamber) in the case of Ilaşcu and others against Moldova and the Russian Federation, adopted respectively in April and July 2005.

3. In the latter resolution, the Committee of Ministers stresses that it is evident that “an excessive prolongation of their [the applicants’] unlawful and arbitrary detention fails entirely to satisfy the requirements of the Court’s judgment” and “Insists that the Russian authorities take all the necessary steps to put an end to the arbitrary detention of the applicants still imprisoned”.

4. The Chairman reiterates that the Committee of Ministers is determined to ensure that the judgment of the Court in the Ilaşcu case is executed without further delay and would refer the honourable parliamentarian to the Chair’s reply to Written Question No. 465 by Mr Holovaty on this same case (CM/AS(2005)Quest465 final of 3 October 2005).

5. The Chairman would add that, following the request of the Committee, he has recently addressed a letter to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federation of Russia regarding the execution of the Court’s judgment in this case. In his letter, the Chairman refers to the position of the Committee of Ministers and its considerations on the way forward. He expressed the strong hope that these aspects will be duly considered with a view to facilitating the prompt release of the applicants, taking into account Russia’s forthcoming chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers.

6. The Chairman of the Committee of Ministers has today received a reply from his Russian colleague, which has been submitted for examination to the Committee of Ministers.