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MINISTERS’ DEPUTIES |
Decisions |
CM/Del/Dec(2026)1563/H46-15 |
11 June 2026 |
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1563rd meeting, 9-11 June 2026 (DH)
H46-15 Bekir-Ousta and Others group v. Greece (Application No. 35151/05) Supervision of the execution of the European Court’s judgments
Reference document |
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 deepest concern that more than 18 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 in cases Bekir-Ousta and Others, Emin and Others and Tourkiki Enosi Xanthis and Others 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 in these cases is therefore now dependent on the taking by the Greek authorities of effective general measures;
4. recalled that in the Sagir and Others judgment the Court considered that the reopening of the impugned proceedings – if requested – would be the most appropriate way of putting an end to the violation found and of affording redress to the applicants; strongly repeated their invitation to the authorities to provide information in this respect, expressing again hope that any such request for reopening would be assessed by the domestic courts with full regard to the Court’s findings;
5. recalling their previous decision welcoming the authorities’ decision to amend the Civil Code to introduce a general clause explicitly requiring that the grounds for the registration and dissolution of associations be interpreted in accordance with international human rights standards, including the Court’s case-law, noted in this context the authorities’ indications that the Ministry of Justice is preparing the above amendments, together with the relevant explanatory memorandum, with a view to tabling them before Parliament as soon as possible, expressing however their regret that no clear timeframe has been provided for the completion of this legislative work;
6. stressing that these amendments are essential for progress in this long-standing group of judgments, strongly urged the authorities to finalise and adopt these amendments without further delay; reiterated also in this context the importance of a clear and comprehensive explanatory memorandum setting out the background and the intended purpose of the amendments, thereby assisting domestic courts in interpreting the amended provisions in line with the Court’s case-law to provide restitutio in integrum for the applicant associations and prevent similar violations in the future;
7. recalling the authorities’ intention to pursue training and awareness-raising activities for judges dealing with the proceedings related to the registration and dissolution of associations, focusing on the European Court’s case-law in this area, regretted the absence of information about this and strongly encouraged the authorities to pursue these activities without further delay, making full use of the Council of Europe’s assistance and expertise in this field;
8. decided to resume examination of this group of cases at their 1577th meeting (December 2026) (DH), and, in the absence of tangible progress by then, to consider taking new action at that meeting to support the efforts of the Greek authorities to abide by their obligations under Article 46 of the Convention deriving from these judgments.