ANNAGI HAJIBEYLI v. AZERBAIJAN JUDGMENT
7
measures on the case at issue. It may also be material whether the facts are
in dispute between the parties, and, if so, to what extent, and what prima
facie evidentiary value is to be attributed to the parties’ submissions on the
facts. Other relevant factors may include whether in their unilateral
declaration the respondent Government have made any admissions in
relation to the alleged violations of the Convention and, if so, the scope of
such admissions and the manner in which the Government intend to provide
redress to the applicant. As to the last-mentioned point, in cases in which it
is possible to eliminate the effects of an alleged violation and the respondent
Government declare their readiness to do so, the intended redress is more
likely to be regarded as appropriate for the purposes of striking out the
application, the Court, as always, retaining its power to restore the
application to its list as provided in Article 37 § 2 of the Convention and
Rule 44 § 5 of the Rules of Court (ibid., § 76; see also Rantsev v. Cyprus
and Russia, no. 25965/04, § 195, ECHR 2010 (extracts)).
35. The foregoing factors are not intended to constitute an exhaustive list
of relevant factors. Depending on the particular facts of each case, it is
conceivable that further considerations may come into play in the
assessment of a unilateral declaration for the purposes of Article 37 § 1 of
the Convention (see Tahsin Acar, cited above, § 77).
36. Finally, the Court reiterates that its judgments serve not only to
decide those cases brought before it but, more generally, to elucidate,
safeguard and develop the rules instituted by the Convention, thereby
contributing to the observance by the States of the engagements undertaken
by them as Contracting Parties. Although the primary purpose of the
Convention system is to provide individual relief, its mission is also to
determine issues on public-policy grounds in the common interest, thereby
raising the general standards of protection of human rights and extending
human rights jurisprudence throughout the community of the Convention
States (see Rantsev, cited above, § 197, with further references).
37. In considering whether it would be appropriate to strike out the
present application on the basis of the unilateral declaration, the Court
makes the following observations.
38. The Court emphasises the serious nature of the allegations made in
the present case. It further observes, from a more general standpoint, that
various types of alleged violations of the rights protected under Article 3 of
Protocol No. 1 to the Convention have been an object of recurrent and
relatively numerous complaints brought before the Court in cases against
Azerbaijan after each parliamentary election that has taken place since the
country’s ratification of the Convention. The Court notes that this appears to
disclose an existence of systematic or structural issues which call for
adequate general measures to be taken by the authorities. No such measures
are mentioned in the unilateral declaration submitted by the respondent
Government in the present case in respect of the specific issues complained