By Alexander Pracht
Armenia and Azerbaijan are discussing the possibility of mutually withdrawing legal disputes, complaints, and claims against each other in international courts, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced Wednesday during a joint press conference with his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, in Yerevan.
“We are also discussing provisions such as the exclusion of third-party forces from the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. If agreed upon, signed, and enforced, these provisions, like all others in the agreement, will be binding,” Mirzoyan stated, emphasizing that the normalization deal aligns with Armenia’s current challenges and its peace agenda.
The country’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has previously said Armenia is ready to drop its legal claims against Azerbaijan should Baku do the same.
However, this new policy was not welcomed by Yeghishe Kirakosyan, who served as Armenia’s chief representative to international courts. In December last year, he denied that Armenia had decided to withdraw its legal claims against Azerbaijan.
“At this moment, there is no such decision. The proceedings are ongoing, and the necessary procedural steps to ensure the examination of our claims continue,” Kirakosyan stated at the time.
Last week, Kirakosyan resigned from his position, and the Armenian government has yet to provide an official explanation for his departure.
What are the cases in question?
Since the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Armenia has filed multiple lawsuits against Azerbaijan. Armenia is currently involved in seven interstate complaints at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and has four cases against Azerbaijan related to human rights violations during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, the illegal detention of Armenian prisoners of war, territorial incursions into Armenia, and the forced displacement of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Additionally, Armenia has filed a complaint against Turkey for supporting Azerbaijan in the 2020 war. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has submitted two complaints against Armenia, alleging violations during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts and accusing Armenia of destruction and resettlement policies.
In September 2021, Armenia also took Azerbaijan to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of violating the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The case includes allegations of state-sponsored intolerance, human rights violations against Armenian prisoners of war, and the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh. In December that year, the ICJ granted Armenia’s request for interim measures, ordering Azerbaijan to protect the rights of Armenian detainees and prevent racial discrimination against Armenians.
Later in February 2024, Armenia became a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), with officials stating that the country is exploring all possible avenues to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its crimes. However, despite its accession, Armenia has not yet filed any lawsuits at the ICC.
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