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MINISTERS’ DEPUTIES |
Decisions |
CM/Del/Dec(2024)1514/H46-17 |
5 December 2024 |
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1514th meeting, 3-5 December 2024 (DH)
H46-17 Bekir-Ousta and Others group v. Greece (Application No. 35151/05) Supervision of the execution of the European Court’s judgments
Reference documents |
Decisions
The Deputies
1. recalled that these cases concern violations of the right to freedom of association due to the domestic courts’ rulings not to register associations and a decision leading to the dissolution of an association on grounds criticised by the European Court as non-Convention-compliant;
2. reiterated once again the fundamental importance of freedom of association in a democratic state;
3. reiterated further their deep concern that more than 16 years since the leading judgment in this group and despite the legislative amendment adopted by Greece in 2017 which allowed the reopening of the impugned proceedings, the applicants have still not been provided with restitutio in integrum, despite having exhausted the possibilities available to them within the domestic legal system, so that progress with regard to the individual measures is therefore now dependent on the taking by the Greek authorities of effective general measures;
4. recalling in this context that the Greek authorities have established a Committee of Experts to study the matter and advise them on the next steps to take with a view to providing the applicants with the possibility to obtain restitutio in integrum, noted with interest that the Committee of Experts is now fully functional and tasked with the drafting in time for the June 2025 DH meeting of comprehensive proposals to the competent authorities for a way forward;
5. recalling that any progress with respect to both individual and general measures appears to be dependent on the work of the Committee of Experts, and given the length of time these judgments have been pending, strongly encouraged the authorities to sustain their efforts to ensure that the Committee of Experts provide the advice to the competent authorities within the above time frame; also strongly invited the authorities to regularly inform the Committee of Ministers about the developments in the work of the Committee of Experts, including in respect of the consultative process with the applicants;
6. welcoming the expressed readiness of the Committee of Experts to work with the Council of Europe, encouraged the Greek authorities to make full use of the Council of Europe’s assistance and expertise in this field, to ensure compliance of any proposed measures with the Convention;
7. decided to resume examination of this group of cases at their 1531st meeting (June 2025) (DH) to review the progress achieved.