The rapid spread of Coronavirus and related to it restrictions influenced the enjoyment of rights and freedoms under the European Convention on Human Rights. This entailed the recent notifications under Article 15 ECHR derogations:

Article 15 – Derogation in time of emergency

1.   In time of war or other public emergency threatening the life of the nation any High Contracting Party may take measures derogating from its obligations under this Convention to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation, provided that such measures are not inconsistent with its other obligations under international law.

2.   No derogation from Article 2, except in respect of deaths resulting from lawful acts of war, or from Articles 3, 4 (paragraph 1) and 7 shall be made under this provision.

3.   Any High Contracting Party availing itself of this right of derogation shall keep the Secretary General of the Council of Europe fully informed of the measures which it has taken and the reasons therefor. It shall also inform the Secretary General of the Council of Europe when such measures have ceased to operate and the provisions of the Convention are again being fully executed.

10 State Parties to the ECHR have already notified of their intention to derogate from certain provisions of the Convention in the context of COVID-19, including Serbia and Latvia.

International Law Committee of the Ukrainian Bar Association invites you to a discussion of the current situation with speakers from Ukraine, Serbia and Latvia.

Time and date: 15^th of July 2020, 18.00 (Kyiv time)

Online event

Speakers:

Mykola Gnatovskyy, President of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, First Vice-President of the Ukrainian Association of International Law (Ukraine)

-        COVID-19 pandemic as a reason for derogation from the ECHR

-        Overview of measures taken by the Council of Europe member states in response to COVID-19 pandemic and their implications for human rights

-        Overview of derogations under Article 15 of the ECHR made during the pandemic

-        Was the derogation really necessary? The case of Ukraine.

Andrea Nikolić, Consultant at Ministry of Justice of Republic of Serbia, Teaching Assistant at the University of Belgrade, CEE Ambassador (Serbia and Montenegro) at Arbitrator Intelligence (Serbia) / speaking in private capacity:

-        The COVID-19 pandemic as a reason for derogation from the ECHR made by Serbia;

-        The logic of derogations and the appropriateness of derogating from the ECHR in response to the COVID-19;

-        Serbian judiciary in the time of COVID-19 and its possible influence on arbitration proceedings.

Ilze Dubava, Lawyer at the State Chancellery of the Republic of Latvia (Latvia)/ speaking in private capacity:

-        Reasons of Latvia’s derogation from certain human rights obligations necessitated by the restrictions that originated from the state of emergency declared by Latvia on 12 March 2020 to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the State;

-        Gradual easing of restrictions in May and early June, including on human rights.

Latvia’s withdrawal from the derogations on 10 June 2020 at the end of the state of emergency.