Landmark Appeal at the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights
Today, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights hears the case of Tsaava and Others v. Georgia (nos. 13186/20, 16757/20, 20129/21, 20175/21 and 39382/21), concerning the dispersal of a protest from the front of the Parliament building in Tbilisi on 20-21 June 2019.
The protest was sparked by a prominent member of the Russian Duma sitting in the Speaker’s chair in the Georgian Parliament and delivering a speech in Russian as part of a session of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy. The applicants were either participants in the demonstration, or journalists reporting on the protests. They allege, in particular, excessive use of force by the authorities resulting in their injury. They rely on Articles 3 (prohibition on inhuman and degrading treatment), 10 (freedom of expression), 11 (freedom of assembly) and 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the Convention.
In its judgment of 7 May 2024, the Strasbourg Court found, unanimously, a violation of the procedural aspect of Article 3 in respect of 24 of the applicants; refrained, by 6 votes to 1, from taking a decision regarding the merits of the substantive aspect of Article 3, and, by 6 votes to 1, from taking a decision regarding the admissibility and merits of the complaints under Article 10 and Article 11; held, unanimously, that Georgia had complied with the obligations under Article 38 (obligation to furnish all necessary facilities during an examination of the case); and held, unanimously, that there was no need to examine the complaint under Article 13.
On 23 September 2024, the case was referred to the Grand Chamber.
Can Yeginsu acts for PEN International, PEN Georgia, and English PEN, before the proceedings in the Grand Chamber, leading Naomi Hart of Essex Court Chambers.
The Press Release issued by the Registrar of the Court can be found here. The Press Release issued by PEN International, PEN Georgia, and English PEN can be found here.
Can Yeginsu is ranked in Tier 1 for his practice in international human rights and public international law. Last year he was shortlisted by Legal 500 for International Law Junior of the Year, having been shortlisted in the same category in 2022. He has acted in over 40 applications before the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Professor Yeginsu also teaches international human rights law at Columbia Law School in New York, and international investment law and arbitration at Georgetown Law in Washington D.C. He is a Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at Cambridge University.
