«The Role of the European Court of Human Rights in the System of Human Rights Protection in Ukraine»
Students Name: Potsiluiko Anna Mykhailivna
Qualification Level: magister
Speciality: International Relations
Institute: Institute of the Humanities and Social Sciences
Mode of Study: part
Academic Year: 2022-2023 н.р.
Language of Defence: ukrainian
Abstract: Since 2014, Ukraine has realized and chosen the path to European integration. The state began to improve in various areas in accordance with European standards, and this primarily concerned the legal system. One of the key structures that can help change legislation is the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Human rights and freedom are the greatest value that states undertake to protect and the ECtHR helps them in such activities. The influence of the Court is evidenced by the implementation of its decisions and the application of precedent practice by the state. Ukraine is on the path to improvement together with the ECtHR, so it is worth investigating how global the role of the Court is in Ukraine and what changes the international body has directly managed to implement in the state, taking into account the problematic implementation of ECtHR decisions by Ukraine. Study object is the system of human rights protection in Ukraine Scope of research is the role and place of the ECtHR in the system of human rights protection, problems and prospects of strengthening this direction. Goal of research: to conduct an analysis of the implementation and application of the practice of the ECHR in Ukraine, including a comparative aspect with individual states of the European region. The role of the ECtHR in Ukrainian legislation was investigated in the master’s thesis. The impact of ECtHR decisions on changes in the legal system of Ukraine and their application in the performance of their duties by national courts is considered. In this context, problems related to the implementation of Ukraine’s decisions were highlighted. Examining the problems of this issue, it is possible to investigate the basis of their occurrence and highlight that one of the main problems is the lack of a clearly established mechanism of action of international legal acts in Ukraine, in particular the Convention and the practice of the ECHR. Also, investigating this issue, one can name a good reason for not implementing the ECtHR’s decisions - this is the payment of compensation to the applicant. The State budget allocates funds for this area, but at the moment this money is not enough. At the same time, it is possible to analyze the implementation of ECtHR decisions by other states. According to statistics for 2019, the best indicators in the implementation of ECtHR decisions are: Andorra, Denmark, Monaco and San Marino - this is 100% implementation. The worst indicators are determined in Azerbaijan and Russia. Ukraine, in turn, occupies 41 out of 47 places, with the implementation of 63.48% of decisions. The work analyzed the number of appeals received by the ECtHR in Ukraine, in this context a comparative method was applied with the statistics of other states. It is possible to preliminarily determine the states against which the most complaints were filed with the ECtHR: Turkey, Russia, and Ukraine in third place. According to the data, only for 2021, the statistics have been slightly changed, so Poland takes Ukraine’s place, and Ukraine, in turn, is placed on the fourth step. The smallest number of applications was recorded for 2021 in Liechtenstein (1 application); Monaco (2 applications) and Iceland (3 applications). According to the data given above, the reasons for the large number of appeals to the state were identified, which are recorded in: extreme imperfection of legal means of protection within the country; violation of citizens’ rights at various stages of the case: pre-trial investigation, judicial process or execution of a court decision; distrust of Ukrainians in national courts, as well as hope for a fairer decision in the European Court; activity of Ukrainians. The work highlights the activities of the ECtHR in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. It is noted that there are about ten appeals of "Ukraine against Russia" and one "Russia against Ukraine" in the ECtHR. Ukraine most often appeals for violation of the rights of citizens on its territory, at first it was about Crimea and the Eastern part of Ukraine, currently the tenth appeal has been filed for the whole of Ukraine, there is also an appeal against Ukrainian sailors who were illegally taken prisoner and the Russian practice of killing people who obstruct the the embodiment of Russian intentions. Currently, the cases are awaiting a decision by the ECtHR, since Russia has left this structure, there may be problems with both their consideration and their implementation. The master’s thesis contains ways of solving Ukraine’s problems regarding the implementation of ECtHR decisions into the national legal system. The primary task is to properly improve the Law of Ukraine "On the Implementation of Decisions and Application of the Practice of the European Court of Human Rights" and to improve Ukraine’s approach to international obligations. Key words: European Court of Human Rights; decision of the ECtHR; precedent; application; Legal System; national courts. References. Gnatovsky, M., and Ioffe, Y. (2017). Twenty Years of the ECHR in Ukraine. EJIL:Talk. Available from: https://www.ejiltalk.org/twenty-years-of-the-echr-in-ukraine/ What is the European Convention on Human Rights? (2020). Amnesty International UK. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/what-is-the-european-convention-on-human-rights Leach, P.(2022) A Time of Reckoning? Russia and the Council of Europe - Strasbourg Observers. Available from: https://strasbourgobservers.com/2022/03/17/a-time-of-reckoning-russia-and-the-council-of-europe/ Millen, R.(2022)Stability Challenges and Opportunities Regarding the Russo-Ukrainian War. European center for security studies. Available from: https://www.marshallcenter.org/en/publications/perspectives/stability-challenges-and-opportunities-regarding-russo-ukrainian-war-0