Introduction

In the light of the adoption of Recommendation 1247 of 1994 on the expansion of the Council of Europe, it was decided that ‘in view of their cultural links with Europe, Armenia and Azerbaijan would have the possibility of applying for membership provided they clearly indicate their will to be considered as part of Europe’. In January 2001, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia became members of the Council of Europe. Only two decades ago they were still part of the former Communist bloc, with an authoritarian political structure, modeled on that of the USSR. In joining the Council they became members of democratically- accountable countries, in accordance with the system of the Council of Europe. One of the requirements of this system is the adherence to the Treaty of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, which aims to protect individuals against arbitrary actions of national public authorities.

The protection of human rights is included in the national constitutions of both countries. However, according to recent monitoring reports, they seem to have great difficulty in fulfilling their commitments to the Council of Europe. Although Armenia and Azerbaijan have been members of the Convention since 2001, there is still a great deal of criticism about the way their public authorities interfere with the right to free expression, one of the most important liberties, as it is one of the conditions for critical analysis of violations of other human rights. Freedom of expression has been guaranteed in Article 10 of the Convention.

The aim of this paper is to give insight into the obligations of national authorities to guarantee freedom of expression in accordance with Article 10 of the Convention, and to demonstrate the rights of the victims of violations in proceedings before the Court of Human Rights. To that purpose I would like to exhibit the working of Article 10 ECHR, and to demonstrate complaints stating the lack of commitment from the national authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan to the Convention and lastly, to reveal the position of the individual victim in Armenia and Azerbaijan in Court Law in cases concerning the freedom of speech.