Over 1,000 Artsakh residents filed applications with ECHR regarding their return to their homeland and loss of property
ArmInfo. As of April 2026, the interests of over 1,000 Artsakh residents have been represented in over 500 applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
According to the press service of the Armenian Center for International and Comparative Law, the complaints were collected and submitted to the ECHR by the International Legal Initiative for Artsakh, established in 2024. The Initiative reports on the losses and human rights violations suffered by residents of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).
"As a result of forced displacement, thousands of people were deprived of the opportunity to exercise their fundamental rights; the right of Artsakh residents to live in their homeland has been violated, including the right to manage their property, which is enshrined in Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The immovable property, land plots, and other possessions built or acquired by displaced Artsakh residents over the years have come under Azerbaijani control, as a result of which they have effectively been deprived of the opportunity to manage and use them. Given these circumstances, the only effective legal avenue that remains is to make use of the mechanisms of the European Court of Human Rights. The process of applying to the ECHR is viewed not only as a means of restoring individual justice, but also as an important step toward raising and advancing, at the international level, the issue of the collective right of return.
Within the framework of the process, the Initiative receives forcibly displaced Artsakh residents who submit documents confirming their place of residence in Artsakh, ownership of relevant property, and other necessary documentation for the preparation of an individual complaint to the ECHR. Each complaint also includes individual stories about the loss of property, the circumstances of displacement, as well as the severe and inhumane conditions created during the blockade of Artsakh. The stories form a comprehensive picture of collective displacement and the right of return. Often, photographs of property and other media materials depicting the personal lives of the affected persons prior to forced displacement are also submitted as attachments to the complaints. The first complaints were filed with the court in late 2024, and the process gained wider coverage in 2025. As of April 2026, the interests of more than 1,000 persons have been represented through more than 500 complaints. The main expectation of the applicants is the restoration of justice through the recognition of violations by the court, which can also serve as a basis for further. legal proceedings including the exercise of the right of return. In addition to preparing and submitting applications, the team is in constant contact with the staff of the European Court.
Based on the latter's suggestions, technical changes are also made to the application process to ensure a more efficient and speedy examination of cases. Cases with similar factual circumstances have previously been examined by the European Court of Human Rights, particularly within the framework of cases related to the conflicts in Cyprus and Nagorno-Karabakh, where the Court has found violations of the right to property and other Convention rights, thereby establishing important precedents for the present applications. The initiative's team continues its work with the aim of supporting all displaced persons who wish to apply to the ECHR for the recognition of their violated rights, while also contributing to the formation and advancement of the international issue concerning the collective right of return of the people of Artsakh," the Center for National and Comparative Law concluded.
It should be noted that on April 16, 2026, the European Court of Human Rights obliged Azerbaijan to provide copies of verdicts in the cases of Armenian prisoners of war held in Baku by August 31.