US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — After the accusations in the report, the essence of which he cannot challenge, the ECHR decided to remain silent. Be that as it may, he will not be able to remain silent forever: after hundreds of publications and official reactions throughout Europe, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a press release on a report that shed light on the existing conflicts of interest between a number of Strasbourg judges and NGOs funded by George Soros.
Two months after the release of the report of the European Center for Law and Justice, every day there is a new criticism of the existing conflicts of interest between the judges of the European Court of Human Rights and NGOs, which are funded by George Soros, including the wealthy and infamous Open Society foundation.
In particular, the report states that 18 judges 88 times participated in the proceedings in cases presented on the initiative of an NGO whose staff and leaders they themselves were in the past. All this constitutes a serious violation of judicial ethics. In any legal state, this is fraught with serious disciplinary sanctions for participants, and cases must be re-examined.
Despite self-isolation, these revelations have not sunk into oblivion, but continue to diverge across Europe and beyond thanks to hundreds of publications. As we know, the ECHR decided not to respond to these facts, since it is not in its power to refute them. Even more serious, one of the judges named in the report, Jonko Grozev, was recently elected to the presidency. Nevertheless, the ECHR, apparently, will not be able to remain silent forever.
The fact is that recently criticism of the situation came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, which devoted an official press release to the report. In particular, it notes the “hidden influence” of some Western NPOs in the ECHR and states that it “directly affects the quality, impartiality and fairness of judgments made by the Court”. Russia believes that the “due account” of these violations by the member states of the Council of Europe within the framework of the ECHR reform process “will allow to correct and ultimately minimize” the political interference in the judicial process by these NGOs.
This statement is of great importance given the diplomatic weight of Russia in Strasbourg. Her representative, no doubt, will rigidly present this position to colleagues from the 46 member states of the Council of Europe. He will definitely get support from other governments, in particular the countries of Central Europe, which have reasons to express dissatisfaction with the political influence of the same NGOs on their territory. The Bulgarian Ministry of Justice has already made a statement in this direction.
Russia does not even need to request the inclusion of the topic on the agenda of the Council of Ministers, since three written appeals from PACE deputies have already been received on this subject. Let us hope that the issue will indeed be considered, since the Committee of Ministers is the only instance that has certain authority over the Court. In response to these questions, European governments will have to agree on the necessary measures to restore the reputation of the ECHR, put an end to conflicts of interest and ensure transparency of NGOs.
The petition launched by the ECSL will be addressed to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (it elects judges of the ECHR) as part of a procedure that allows anyone to request the inclusion of an issue on the agenda. Finally, the deputies have already expressed their intention to begin work on a parliamentary report to draw up recommendations, which implies an investigation with a call to hear the representatives of the Court.
As a result, the ECHR will have to take measures, in particular, to start following the deontological rules that it sets for national courts. About a hundred lawyers have already presented clear measures in the recent call for independence and impartiality of the ECHR. He can maintain authority only if he reaffirms his honesty.
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