Human right breach investigation commitment in the context of the armed conflict: Jurisprudence of the European Court of human rights

Abstract

The study examines the specifics of the obligations of states that are parties to the European Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as the "Convention") regarding investigations into violations of the Convention in the context of an armed conflict. The research relevance is predetermined by the rapid development of the practice of the European Court of Human Rights in recent years, as well as the significant burden on Ukrainian law enforcement agencies due to the urgent need to investigate massive violations of human rights committed in the context of Russian military aggression. The research aims to generalize the current practice of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the procedural obligations of the state in the context of armed conflict. The basis of the research was the analytical method, the method of specific sociological research. The issue of the jurisdictional connection between the duty to investigate and the state party to the Convention, the spectrum of violations to be investigated, the prerequisites for the duty to investigate violations, and the content of procedural obligations in the context of an armed conflict are considered. Jurisdiction of the Convention on Human Rights for Art. 1 Convention, in particular regarding procedural obligations, are primarily territorial; however, there are some exceptions to this general principle. The spectrum of violations for which the state party to the Convention has procedural obligations covers all serious violations of the Convention. The prerequisites for the obligation to investigate a violation may be a) a crime report; and/or b) the presence of signs indicating the commission of a violation, even in the absence of a report of a crime. To investigations of violations committed in the context of an armed conflict, the European Court of Human Rights applies the same criteria for the effectiveness of the investigation as under normal conditions (independence, adequacy (thoroughness), public control, and involvement of the victim), given the objective difficulties, caused by hostilities. The practical value lies in outlining the specific obligations of Ukraine under the Convention regarding the investigation of mass violations of human rights during the war