Right to a Fair Trial: Issues pertaining to Violation of Reasonable Time

03.11.2023

The policy paper of the Law Development and Protection Foundation titled “Issues pertaining to Compensation of Non-Pecuniary Damage in case of Violation of the Right to a Fair Trial within Reasonable Time” has been published. 

The studies previously conducted by the Law Development and Protection Foundation in the area of the right to a fair trial indicate the systemic violations of the right to a fair trial within reasonable time in the Republic of Armenia. In the meantime, the RA legislation does not provide for necessary and sufficient regulations on procedures for recognizing and compensating the violation of the said right. This, in its turn, makes the provided legal remedy ineffective. Although Article 162.1 of the Civil Code provides for the possibility of awarding compensation in case of a breach of the right to a fair trial, the legislative framework in force is ineffective, which is confirmed by the existing judicial practice.

The purpose of this research is to reveal the international standards and best practices in order to identify applicable procedures and tools used by courts in the process of recognizing the violation of the given right and compensating for non-pecuniary damage as a consequence of its violation. The relevant legislation of five member states of the Council of Europe was studied. 

The authors of the document conclude that it is necessary to prescribe a specific judicial procedure for recognizing the violation of the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time and compensating for non-pecuniary damage in the RA legislation. In particular, specific and short procedural timeframes, regulations directed at ensuring the authority of the court to examine factual circumstances of the case ex-officio and access the materials of the given case should be envisaged in the legislation.  

The Law Development and Protection Foundation does hope that the document will contribute to the lawmaking process in the field of recognizing the violation of the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time and stipulating specific judicial compensation procedures for non-pecuniary damage.

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This research was carried out with the support of the EaP CSF Secretariat. This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Sergey Grigoryan and the Law Development and Protection Foundation and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

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