Azerbaijan suspends compliance with European Court decisions
Panarmenian.net
Azerbaijan has suspended cooperation on the implementation of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings, creating difficulties in the monitoring process, according to the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ 2025 annual report assessing member states’ compliance.
The document notes that Azerbaijan last submitted data to the Committee on March 18, 2025. It records that after a positive trend in 2024, the number of unpaid compensation cases rose from 1,002 to 1,066 by the end of 2025, as reported by Factor.am .
In particular, the number of cases where payments were delayed by more than six months increased to 691, compared to 634 in 2024. At the same time, it was emphasized that most member states overall paid compensation on time. Ukraine and Azerbaijan were highlighted among the main countries with delays. While Ukraine’s issues are linked to the war, in Azerbaijan’s case, it was noted that the authorities halted cooperation with the Committee and stopped providing information in 2025.
In 2025, the Committee of Ministers received 75 cases against Azerbaijan for supervision of compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights. The figure stood at 62 in 2024 and 84 in 2023.
The report stresses that the system can function effectively only with active state engagement, which was not ensured by all countries in 2025. Azerbaijan submitted information to the Committee only twice that year, with the last submission on March 18. After that, the country ceased cooperation on the execution of ECHR judgments. This situation has been assessed as a serious burden on the monitoring mechanism.
According to statistical data, 10 percent (397) of the cases under the Committee’s review concern Azerbaijan. By the end of 2025, data on compensation payments were expected in 169 cases, of which 112 were delayed by more than six months. The Committee’s decisions reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s obligations under Article 46 of the European Convention to fully, effectively, and promptly execute ECHR rulings. The Committee of Ministers called on the Azerbaijani authorities to restore high-level dialogue and expressed regret over the prolonged silence and lack of progress.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated in April 2024 that he might not recognize ECHR decisions, citing the country’s non-participation in the selection of judges.
In a January 2025 interview with Euronews, Azerbaijan’s president said the country had halted cooperation with PACE and the European Parliament, working only with the European Commission. Baku rejected international criticism on human rights as biased, while rights defenders report around 340 political prisoners in Azerbaijan.
