The Court declared the property seizure to be in violation of the law.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has delivered two decisions against the Azerbaijani government over property rights violations.
In the case of “Aliyev v. Azerbaijan”, the applicant filed a complaint regarding the demolition of his shop in the city of Gadabay by the local executive authority. He stated that he did not receive any compensation for his unlawfully demolished shop. Instead, he was offered an unfinished building, which he declined.
Local courts rejected the applicant’s claim, arguing that the demolition was legal, based on an order from the executive authority. This order concerned the relocation of several facilities, including the applicant’s shop, to a nearby commercial center under construction.
It was also noted that the applicant had been allocated a unit in the newly built commercial center in place of the demolished property. However, the applicant contended that the proposed unit was located in a small, unfinished building under a high-voltage power line and lacked proper documentation. He also claimed that no financial support was offered to renovate the new space.
The government, during communication with the court, stated that the applicant had been offered a replacement for the demolished shop. The ECHR found that the executive authority lacked the legal power under domestic law to issue an order depriving someone of property. Furthermore, the offer of a new unit was not legally valid without the applicant’s consent.
The applicant had specifically requested monetary compensation. The local courts failed to explain why an object was given instead of compensation. Therefore, the court concluded that the deprivation of property did not meet legal requirements. However, since the parties are not yet ready to resolve the compensation issue, the matter was postponed.
In another case, “Sadigov v. Azerbaijan”, the applicant complained about the demolition of a building he owned, built in 1955, by the executive authority in the Tartar district. He argued that the compensation amount of 16,808 manats was inadequate.
The ECHR stated that local courts did not provide sufficient justification for the compensation amount awarded. Since the applicant did not specify his compensation demands during the communication phase of the case, the court did not determine any financial compensation.
The ECHR has addressed this issue in previous rulings, emphasizing that if compensation is requested in the complaint but not reiterated during the communication stage, the court will refrain from awarding it.
Since February 2024, the Azerbaijani government has stopped paying penalties arising from ECHR decisions. On April 9, 2025, President Ilham Aliyev declared that Azerbaijan would no longer recognize the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights.
Aliyev linked this decision to Azerbaijan’s delegation being excluded from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) last year. “We’ve been deprived of our voting rights. We didn’t vote for those judges, and we don’t know who they are,” Aliyev said.
On January 24, 2024, PACE refused to ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation, citing the country’s failure to meet core obligations as a member of the Council of Europe.
Other reasons included the deteriorating human rights situation in Azerbaijan, the arrest of journalists, failure to invite PACE to observe the early presidential election, and military operations in the Karabakh region.
Prior to the vote, Azerbaijan’s delegation announced it was suspending its participation in the Assembly “indefinitely” and described the situation as part of a biased campaign against the country for restoring its territorial integrity.
In January 2025, Azerbaijan did not send a delegation to PACE.
