The withdrawal of interstate lawsuits in international courts cannot have an impact on individual cases. Human rights activist Siranush Sahakyan, the lawyer representing the interests of the Armenian captives in Azerbaijan at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), stated this during a panel discussion Thursday on the Armenian prisoners of war being held in the prisons of Azerbaijani capital Baku.

“The withdrawal of interstate cases will not lead to a revision of our positions on individual cases. On the contrary: the work will intensify towards filing new individual or group lawsuits. However, the question arises: And what should be the fate of those persons the protection of whose rights are carried out within the framework of an interstate complaint?” Sahakyan said.

She informed that the interests of 22 out of the 23 Armenian captives in Baku are represented at the ECtHR through an interstate complaint.

“The cases of all [Nagorno-Karabakh] former and current [Armenian] leaders [in Azerbaijani captivity] are represented through an interstate complaint. And the withdrawal of the interstate complaint will mean that there is no longer a legal dispute regarding their rights. The solutions to the problem will remain in non-legal domains, where, I believe, Armenia has not created any such significant victorious stories,” Sahakyan said.

According to her, it is possible to test the approach of engaging the group of injured parties and indicating that here a subject whose rights have not been violated is making a waiver.

“And third parties whose rights have been violated and want to pursue the protection of their rights should ask the court not to accept the waiver, placing the interests of justice above the position of the party,” Sahakyan said.