Κατεύθυνση Σπουδές Νοτιοανατολικής Ευρώπης: Πολιτική, Ιστορία, Οικονομικά
Library of the Faculties of Political Science and Public Administration, Communication and Mass Media Studies, Turkish and Modern Asian Studies, Sociology

2019-11-05

2019

Pirvulescu Monica

Emmanuella Doussis, Professor Associate, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Dr. Tina Stavrinaki

Romania and the European Court of Human Rights. The Revolution Cases

English

România și Curtea Europeană a Drepturilor Omului. Procesele Revoluției

The European Court of Human Rights have found repeated violations by Romania of the European Convention of Human Rights (mainly the procedural limb of Article 2) with respect to the domestic investigations into the violent events of December 1989 (the so-called „Revolution”). The purpose of the dissertation is to find to what extend the ECtHR’s system has impacted the Romanian justice system, especially the domestic investigations in the main criminal file regarding the Revolution. The theoretical part of the dissertation focuses on Article 2 (procedural limb), which served as the main legal grounds for the repeated condemnations of Romania with regard to the delay and other shortcomings of the domestic investigations, and on Article 46 (binding force and execution of judgments), which defines the supervision role of the Committee of Ministers in the execution of the final judgments of ECtHR. Out of the twenty-three Revolution cases identified, Case of Association „21 December 1989” and Others v. Romania has been analyzed in detail to illustrate the way in which ECtHR applied Article 2 (procedural limb) in the Revolution cases. The impact of ECtHR’s system upon the Romanian justice system has been assessed according to the instructions and conclusions drawn by the Committee of  Ministers during its enhanced supervision of ECtHR’s judgments. At a legislative level, several important measures were taken in the context of execution of the judgments: in 2012, the statutory limitation period for intentional offences against life was removed; in 2014, measures were enforced in order to guarantee the co-operation of state bodies and other entities with the investigating authorities; and since 2014 judges and prosecutors have had access to classified information without prior security clearance. In what concerns the progress of the domestic investigation of the main criminal file concerning the Revolution, a major effect was the access of the applicants to the relevant documents in the domestic case and the declassification of essential information considered as “top secret” and “secret” in May 2010. New facts have recently been brought to light shaping a new and coherent theory regarding the bloody events that took place after the fall of Ceaușescu: a complex diversion which led to more victims than during the days when the dictator had been still in power. The main criminal case finally reached the court in 2019 with the indictment of top officials who had assumed de facto the power the day Ceaușescu had been deposed.

Social, Political and Economic sciences

Law and Legislation

Romanian Revolution, December 1989, ECtHR's jurisdiction ratione temporis, execution of ECtHR's final judgments, Committee of Ministers, Association "21 December 1989", Article 2 (procedural limb) in ECHR, Article 46 in ECHR

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https://pergamos.lib.uoa.gr/uoa/dl/object/2884795