Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

As an issue of strategic importance, HCA Vanadzor protects human rights of citizens - who applied to the Organization - in Applications (concerning violations of human rights and freedoms) against the Republic of Armenia, claiming compensation for non-pecuniary damage. HCA Vanadzor thus aims to contribute to application of the mentioned norms, restoration of violated rights by using the institute of non-pecuniary damage, formation of judicial practice, ensuring judicial integrity, lightening of procedural issues, including the burden of proof, elimination of statute of limitations.  

We hereby present the situation of the institute of non-pecuniary damage as per cases of HCA Vanadzor. The analysis addresses issues in the sphere of non-pecuniary damage that were identified as a result of HCA Vanadzor human rights activity, in particular:

1. illegal distribution of the burden of proving the fact of violation of a right,
   

2. unlawfulness of a one-year statute of limitation for claiming compensation of damage,
   

3. lack of the term “significant damage” caused to the person whose right was violated.           

Click here to read the full analysis. 

We record that while the Republic of Armenia envisaged an institute of compensation for non-pecuniary damage by making amendments to legal acts, the current issues do not lead to achievement of the goal, i.e., restoration of a violated right, because the institute needs to develop and improve through practice.

For restoration of violated rights, it is necessary to solve issues identified through practice in order to develop this institute, in particular, to train judges investigating civil cases  based on peculiarities of cases concerning compensation for non-pecuniary damage, decrease the plaintiff’s obligation to prove, introduce  concrete mechanisms  for calculating the amount of money to be compensated, clearly define “grave consequence”, eliminate statute of limitations.