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FIRST
SECTION
CASE OF ASADOV AND OTHERS v. AZERBAIJAN
(Application
no. 138/03)
JUDGMENT
(Striking
out)
STRASBOURG
26
October 2006
This
judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44
§ 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial
revision.
In the case of Asadov and Others v. Azerbaijan,
The
European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Chamber
composed of:
Mr C.L. Rozakis, President,
Mr L.
Loucaides,
Mrs F. Tulkens,
Mrs E. Steiner,
Mr K.
Hajiyev,
Mr D. Spielmann,
Mr S.E. Jebens, judges,
and
Mr S. Nielsen, Section Registrar,
Having
deliberated in private on 5 October 2006,
Delivers
the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
- The
case originated in an application (no. 138/03) against the Republic
of Azerbaijan lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms (“the Convention”) by five Azerbaijani
nationals, Messrs Etimad Asadov, Firudin Mamedov, Asaf
Aliyev, Bahruz Jamalov, and Oqtay Mehdiyev (“the
applicants”), on 19 November 2002.
- The
applicants were represented by Mr I. Aliyev and Mr A. Guliyev,
lawyers practising in Baku. The Azerbaijani Government (“the
Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mrs C. Asgarov.
- The
applicants alleged, in particular, that the failure by the Ministry
of Justice to register their public association in a timely manner
constituted an interference with their freedom of association as
guaranteed by Article 11 of the Convention.
- The
application was allocated to the First Section of the Court (Rule 52
§ 1 of the Rules of Court). Within that Section, the
Chamber that would consider the case (Article 27 § 1 of the
Convention) was constituted as provided in Rule 26 § 1.
- By
a decision of 12 January 2006 the Court declared the application
partly admissible.
THE FACTS
I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE
- The
applicants, Messrs Asadov, Mamedov, Aliyev, Jamalov,
and Mehdiyev, were born in 1963, 1970, 1965,
1962 and 1968 respectively and live in Baku.
- On
20 December 2001 the applicants founded a public association named
“Karabakh Warriors” (“Qarabağ Qaziləri”
İctimai Birliyi). This was a non-profit organisation aimed
at providing aid to the Karabakh war invalids and protection of their
interests.
- After
the founders' meeting, the applicants filed an application for the
association's state registration with the Ministry of Justice, the
government authority responsible for the state registration of legal
entities. In accordance with the domestic law, a non-governmental
organisation acquired the status of a legal entity only upon its
state registration by the Ministry of Justice. While the applicants
claimed that they had filed the application in late December 2001,
the Government submitted that it had been officially received by the
Ministry on 8 February 2002.
- On
15 February 2002 the Ministry of Justice returned the registration
documents to the applicants without taking any action, i.e. without
issuing a state registration certificate or an official refusal to
register the association. In the cover letter, the Ministry noted in
general terms that the association's charter did not comply with
Article 13.1 of the Law On Non-Governmental Organisations,
which set out general requirements for the contents of a charter.
- The
applicants redrafted the charter in line with the Ministry's comments
and on 12 April 2002 re-applied for the state registration submitting
a new version of the charter. Although the applicants expected to
receive a response from the Ministry within the statutorily required
five-day period after the re-submission of the registration
documents, they did not receive anything from the Ministry for the
following three months.
- In
July 2002, the applicants applied to the Yasamal District Court,
complaining that the Ministry “evaded” registering their
organisation and asking the court to oblige the Ministry to register
it. In the meantime, on 19 July 2002 the Ministry sent a letter
to the applicants, informing them that the documents were again
returned “with no action taken” by the Ministry. This
time the reason for declining the registration was the applicants'
failure to list in the charter the terms of service of the
association's governing bodies, as required by Article 25.1 of the
Law On Non-Governmental Organisations. More specifically, the
Ministry noted that the charter did not specify the term of office of
the association's Deputy President. The applicants alleged that they
had never seen this letter before it was presented to them during the
court proceedings.
- On
7 August 2002 the Yasamal District Court dismissed the applicants'
claim, finding nothing unlawful in the actions of the Ministry. The
court found that the association's charter had not been drafted in
accordance with the requirements of the domestic law. The applicants
appealed, claiming that the requirement to specify in the charter the
term of office of the association's Deputy President was “absurd”
and could not be used as justification for evading registering the
organisation. On 11 October 2002 the Court of Appeal upheld the
district court's judgment. On 12 February 2003 the Supreme Court
upheld the Court of Appeal's decision.
- In
the meantime, the applicants again redrafted the association's
charter to take account of the Ministry's latest remarks and again
re submitted the registration documents. On 19 April 2006 the
Ministry of Justice registered the public association as a legal
entity and issued a state registration certificate.
THE LAW
- On
22 May 2006 one of the applicants, Mr Asadov, sent a letter informing
the Court of the applicants' wish to withdraw the application due to
the fact that their public association had been registered by the
Ministry of Justice. On 18 July 2006 the Court forwarded this letter
to the applicants' lawyer, as well as to the Government, for
comments. Neither party submitted any comments by the deadline fixed
by the Court.
- In
these circumstances, the Court concludes that it is no longer
justified to continue the examination of the application within the
meaning of Article 37 § 1 (c) of the Convention. Furthermore,
the Court finds no reasons of a general character, as defined in
Article 37 § 1 in fine, which would require the
examination of the application by virtue of that Article.
- Accordingly,
the case should be struck out of the list.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT UNANIMOUSLY
Decides to strike the case out of the list.
Done in English, and notified in writing on 26 October 2006, pursuant
to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Søren Nielsen Christos Rozakis
Registrar President
