

ECHR President Spielman to EuroFora: Judgements' Execution (on MISSING People+) and BioEthic issues

*Strasbourg/ECHR/Angelo Marcopolo/- Replying to "Questions raised (by "EuroFora") on 2 Big Issues" (as he called them) : the Implementation of ECHR's Judgements, at least in the most Serious cases of Human Rights' Violations, as that of "MISSING" People, where even Latin America threatens to bypass Europe, (given, particularly, Turkey's notorious reluctance to move on Cyprus' "MISSING" persons, etc), as well as on BioEthical affairs, of growing importance recently in several Countries, (See Infra), the President of the PanEuropean Court of Human Rights, Dean Spielmann from Luxembourg, without ignoring the existing problems, looked Carefully Optimist about ECHR's capacity to help find ways to strengthen Implementation, and Conscious of the current Need to really give a deeper thought and a Fair balance on "Sensitive" BioEthical matters, as it results from what he told us during his Annual Press Conference at the eve of the beginning of the Judicial Year 2014.
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- "EuroFora" raised "2 Differend Questions" to ECHR's President :
- (A) "Recently, you (ECHR) succeeded to reduce the Backlog, concerning incoming Applications, but, as it's well known, what is currently increasing is the backlog of Judgements of the Court, which are now pending for Execution at CoE's Committee of Ministers, without having been executed, or at least not fully implemented. Some of them even concern very Serious Violations of Human Rights, such as f.ex. on "MISSING" Persons (i.e. possibly Torture, Kiillings, deprivation of Liberty, etc), which are very Old sometimes, (the oldest being that of Cyprus since the 1974 Turkish Miltary Invasion and still on-going Occupation of its Northern Territories). "Obviously it's an issue mainly for CoE's Committee of Ministers. But is really the Court completely disarmed, or could it, perhaps, Find a way to Contribute a little bit" in helping to solve such problems, f.ex. "with Your (President's) Statements, using your (Moral and/or Legal) Authority, but also, may be, with something as Simple, perhaps, as the General Article 1 (of the PanEureopean Convention on Human Rights, which asks from all CoE Member States to ensure the Respect of all subsequently listed Human Rights to their Population) ? Because, in certain cases, aftert too many years not even one sligtest Suspect hasn't yet be found, while, on the Contrary, f.ex. in Latin America, there are even People who acted 40 years ago, even very important sometimes, who are going to Prison (for Crimes committed in the Past against "MISSING" Persons) and/or have to reply to Judges,, there are "hot" Documents discovered, etc. So that Europe, who was the 1st defensor of Human Rights at the beginning, now risks to fall back" at a comparatively Lower level of protection.

+ (B) "On the Differend, but Topical issues, of recently growing number and importance, concerning BioEthics, that you (ECHR) have already started to handle, f.ex. on Human Embryos etc., is included also the presently "hot" issues, f.ex. in Austria, France, and other Countries, about "Mariages" between persons of the Same Sex, and particularly as far as it concerns Childrens' fate : F.ex. (controversial and unpopular) Adoptions by Homosexuals, Surrogate Mothers, Medicaly Assisted Procreation, etc. Certainly, the issue of (Homosexuals') Personal Liberty and Human Dignity, which was the 1st to arrive at the Court, is absolutely Respectable, and almost everybody at least claims to respect it. But, it seems that there are many Doubts and Fears concerning mainly Children, and particularly the Risk to massively impose, more and more frequently, an Artificial Procreation of Human beings, which is absolutely something else, but, "de facto", Hidden behind these cases, as it's easy to guess",(given the Sterility of Homosexual Couples, who canNot have Children by Natural Birth). A trend which becomes even more Worrying if, at the same time, is imposed also a massive authorisation of (previously Forbidden) Genetic Manipulations of Human Embryos, (as, f.ex. in 2013 in France, etc), with obvious Risks of Abuses to the detriment of Humankind. "At this point, several Fears for Freedoms to be Restricted, perhaps Disproportionately, appear at another side : That of Critics (of Same Sex Mariage). F.ex. vis a vis Demonstrations, and/or concerning the way they are treated by the Police, (something which was already denounced by CoE's Assembly : See .....), or Families who withdraw their Children from (Government-controled) Schools, their Parents feeling (rightfuly or wrongly) that they risk to be threatened (f.ex. destabilized by a massively imposed endoctrination leaving Doubts about everybody's Sexual Identity, even at an early age, before it has had any chance to be consciously developed), at least as it is observed on the spot and published in several Media (even mainstream), sometimes even (democratically elected) Mayors are threatened with too Heavy Prison sentences, (f.ex. if they evoke their "Freedom of Conscience" to refuse to celebrate personaly Homosexuals' Mariages, but leave that to another member of a Municipal Council), some fear that even Free Speech might face more and more doubtful and vague restrictions, etc. In this regard, "do you think that the ECHR will succeed to keep a Fairly Balanced approach ?", "EuroFora" asked its President.
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[ NDLR : In the Worst cases in History, these 2 Different Problematics have been Joined Together, in exceptionaly Tragical circumstances, mainly of Horrible, Deadly "Tests" on Human beings, reportedly during the Armenian Genocide by the Othoman-Turc Empire of 1915-1922, closely followed by several NAZI Concentration Camps' abuses during the 2nd World War (1940-1945), while it was also mentioned in a more recent 2007 Publication by a US Review as a probable scenario for some among the more than 1.500 Greek Cypriot persons gone "Missing" since the 1974 Turkish Foreign Military Invasion/Occupation of part of the island, in addition to former International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia's Attorney General and UNO Top Expert, Carla del Ponte from Switzerland, 2007 and 2012 denunciations of Human Trafficking of Organs reportedly taken from Serbian and/or Syrian POWs kidnapped by Armed Rebels during the Kosovo and/or Syrian conflicts, (etc. + Comp. Carla del Ponte's relevant Statements to "EuroFora", during a special event organized at ECHR's headquarters in Strasbourg, as early as since 2007 already).
But here, it's much more a kind of Aldus Huxley's "Brave New World" dangers that it's obviously at stake, considering also the Fact that, f.ex. in France, it's almost at the Same Time that the Manipulation of Human Embryos was massively Authorized (f.ex. in France, 7/3013), closely following a very Controversial and Unpopular Law on Same Sex "Mariages" going as far as to impose even "Adoptions" of Children by Homosexuals, triggering widespread Popular Protests and Fears (Protests and Fears (See f. ex. Demonstrations' Photos, etc), that this would also push (by further manipulating ECHR's case-law) towards imposing Surrogate Mothers, and/or Medically Assisted Procreations together with Massive In Vitro Fertilisations, Pre-Natal Screening, Sperms' and/or Ovaries' and/or Embryos' "Banks", etc., (through demands by Lobbysists hidden behind possibly many Tens of Thousands of oherwise Sterile Homosexual Couples), towards unprecedented, Massive abuse Risks for a Technocratic Lobby to take Control, in a large part of Procreation of Human Beings, over Natural Births through Natural Families (Historically protected also by Article 12 of the European Convention of Human Rights, onFamily, "between a Man and a Woman", as the Wording of the Official ECHR Text Signed and Ratified by 47 COE Member States still says, despite a subsequent and controversial Alteration by some ECHR Chambers' decisions), with obvious Dangers for Humankind too.
In that case, there would be no need, anymore, to Kidnap, arrest and/or imprison many Thousands of "Missing" Persons in order to commit abuses f.ex. by submiting them, as Guinea Pigs, to various "Tests", as in the Past of Othoman-Turk and/or NAZI Genocides against Armenians or Jews, etc, since Technocratic Lobbies would have at their disposal many Tens of Thousands of Homosexual couples in each Country, who, given their congenital Sterility, would be asking for Artificial procreation of Human Beings, as the only way to get Children at the disposal.
One may ask : - "What relation could exist f.ex, between Kidnaping, Detaining in Secret, Torturing and Killing an Adult "MISSING" Person, from the one side, and Destroying, "Testing" and/or Genetically Manipulating Human Embryos after conception, provoking Massive Artificialy Monitored Births instead of Natural Babies, and/or submitting Poor and Defenseless Children, isolated from their Natural Family, to the Power of Homosexuals who are total Strangers to the kids' Natural Parents, atrociously Exploit Poor "Surrogate Mothers", Massively fabricate an entire Population of captive (because Sterile) "Clients" to Technocrats able to abuse of a Panoply of Artificial Interventions in the Procreation of Human Beings (such as In Vitro Fertilisations, Pre-Natal "Screening" Tests, "Banks" of spare Embryos, Sperms and Ovaries, etc), inevitably stimulate a "Trafficking" of Babies and/or Poor Children for "Adoption" by Rich Homosexuals, etc.
In fact, all these cases have nothing else in common, except from raising serious issues concerning the Value of Human Life, Natural Family and Freedom, as well as Human Dignity. And, obviously, also to risk to Threaten all Humankind, even with irreversible consequences, for the 2nd category of cases, in addition... ]

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Implementation of ECHR's Judgements : ECHR to move stronger ?
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- "If I may resume your questions, you have touched upon 2 Big Issues :", observed ECHR's President, Spielmann :
- "At first, the Implementation of our (ECHR's) Judgements :"

- "You are absolutely Right when you referred (in this regard) also to the 1st Article of our (PanEuropean) Convention ("on Human Rights"), which almost sets the (General) Framework of all other Rules of the Convention", (by stressing CoE's Member States' "Obligation" to "secure" "respect" of Human Rights for all their inhabitants), agreed President Spielmann,
indirectly but surely pointing at what "EuroFora"'s idea implied : To start Condemning recalcitrant States also on the basis of Article 1, if they persist not to implement important ECHR's judgements which have condemned them for certain Violations of Human Rights.
+ "Including, particularly, Art. 46 of the Convention, which gives to CoE's Committee of Ministers the competence to Supervise the Implementation of our Judgements", he naturally reminded in addition.
- But, "this doesn't mean that ECHR doesn't play any role regarding the Implementation of its Judgements", President Spielmann practically agreed with "EuroFora"'s main query (Comp. Supra).
- Thus, "I think, f.ex. , that the technique of "Pilot cases", is a good Example where, for the 1st time , our Cout invented an ingenious formula also in order to help (CoE's) Member States to implement judgements and, in particular, in order to settle equivalent situations vis a vis the Systemic Problems which are at the base of a pilot judgement".
+ Moreeover, ECHR's President Spielmann gave that Reply to "EuroFora"s 1st question while, at the same time, EuroCourt was preparing to hold Tomorow, Friday, a "Seminar, on the "Implementation of ECHR's Judgements", as "a Shared judicial Responsibility", "an issue which seems to me to be particularly Important", as he anounced earlier Today, while also confirming a Keynote Speech by the President of the German Constitutional Court, from nearby Karlsruhe, Andreas Fosskuhle.
=> - However, replying to another Journalist's question on Turkey, ECHR President Spielmann pointed out the fact that, "precisely, among the Problems that we (ECHR) have is to manage those Repetitive affairs". I.e. there where, despite a clear Condemnation, nevertheless, the responsible State persists to commit even more similar Violations of Human Rights, wihout fully implementing ECHR's judgements - as, f.ex. the Turkish Authorities notoriously do on ECHR's case-law about "Missing" Persons, and/or Refugees, in Cyprus. That is to say, precisely, to that kind of problems that President Spielmann just evoked, in his Reply to "EuroFora"s Question, when he reminded the PanEuropean Court's attempts to "Help" recalcitrant States Stop "Repetitive" Violations of Human Rights, also by using the Tool of the so-called "Pilot" cases : Comp. Supra)...
=> Thus, it's not a surprise that the latest ECHR Statistical Data revealed Today by Spielmann, clearly show that Turkey keeps the Biggest Numbers of Condemnations by ECHR in 2013 for Failing to Investigate even Violations of the Right to Life (i.e. Killings) and in cases of Torture/Inhuman-Degrading Treatments, (etc).
This problem appears to be even more important, when one considers also the fact that : -"Almost 1 Thousand of (pending) cases (on Turkey) are classified among the 3 Priority areas" of the ECHR, "so that this shows that, a priori, there are still many Serious cases of Human Rights' Violations", as Spielmann also observed.
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Bio-Ethical Issues : "No Activism" ?!
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+ "The 2nd point that you touched, naturally concerns some extremely Sensitive issues", E CHR's President agreed with "EuroFora"s general approach.
and, when I've said earlier, about an allegation that our Court would behave like an "Activist"
I referred to the Interpretation of the (PanEureopean) Convention (on Human Rights) in the light of Today's ways of life", (or : "conditions of life", in the original in French), as he called it.
- "And BioEthical issues are obviously at the center of questions of current issues concerning Today's ways of life"", (or : "conditions of life", in the original in French).
- "We (ECHR) already have a number of Judgements on BioEthical issues". F.ex., "one among the 1st was the decision on (the case of) "Evans v. U.K." where the ECHR didn't find a violation",
- "But these are, of course, issues which are examined by our Court"
-" However, you also understand that, as President of the Court, I can't comment now on eventualy more specific problems, because it's up to the Court to decide, at the right moment, on the issues which are raised in front of it". -------------------------------------------------
Concerning other Criticism of certain ECHR's rulings as being inspired sometimes by a kind of "Activism", as a Brittish Journalist from "Daily Telegraph" said earlier, pointing at the "accusations" of an eminent former Lord Judge, Chief Justice for England and Wales, who had even pushed the point as far as to denounce "a Threat to (National) Sovereignity" of CoE's Member States, because of some "intangible" EuroJudges' alleged stance,
President Spielmann first observed that Parliamentary Sovereignity had already been, restricted vis a vis several EU and/or CoE matters during the last 30 - 40 years, so that "Sovereignity cannot be an Obstacle to implement Human Rights" Today.
+ "As to the allegation that we are an "Activist" Court, I'd repeat, as I've already done in many occasions, that we (ECHR) don't create New Rights, (but) we Interpret (already Existing) Rights in the Light of Present Day conditions, as other Courts already do also, including Domestic Courts, including UK's Courts, including UK's Supreme Court",
F.ex., "it's clear that the Drafters of the (PanEuropean Human Rights) Convention did not envisage New Technologies, did not envisage Developments in Modern Society, and it's clear to us that the Convention needs to be Interpreted in the Light of Present Day Conditions".
- But, at any case, "Without Creating New Rights, I would like to Insist on that", President Spielmann also stressed, as a matter of General Principle, due to be normaly respected by all 47 ECHR's Members, including small Chambers with only 7 or even just 3 Members, sometimes even 1 (one), etc.
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However, it obviously seems Difficult, if not Impossible to understand, then, how it became possible, only a few Years ago, for an ECHR's Chamber, to even blatantly ERASE the crystal-clear mention of "Men and Women", (i.e. of Natural Couples, able to Freely trigger Natural Births of their own Children whenever they might want), from the beginning of Article 12 in the PanEuropean Convention of Human Rights about the "Right to Marry" ! Normaly, any Big Change in the PanEuropean Convention of HR. needs to be Agreed, Signed and Ratified by most, if not all 47 CoE's Member States, before it enters into force : Legally, it's not up to a Tiny Minority of 3 or 4 EuroJudges alone to impose important Mutations in Inter-Governemental International Treaties ! Particulary when a very Wide Majority of CoE's Member States (38 out of 47) hasn't yet recognized at all any kind of "Mariage" for Homosexuals until now, only a small Minority of 9 having done so, just recently, and most in Controversial circumstances, (See f.ex. : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/echrulingongayunionsandchildren.html ).
A fortiori when, matters such as "Today's conditions of Life", compared to "Yesterday's", and "Tomorow's", or of"the Day After Tomorrow's", etc., as President Spilmann called them, normally shouldn't affect at all certain Issues and Values of much Higher Importance, not only of Public Interest for the Society, but even concerning all Humankind, which would obviously Risk to be irreversibly affected by possibly provoked and imposed serious Alterations for ever, for the Eternity, if one wasn't careful enough to protect it on time...
+ Moreover, nobody could ignore or deny the great importance of "the Values involved and Issues at stake", (including "Public" ones which affect all the Society), in such BioEthical cases, as Spielmann and oher EuroJudges had already pointed out in their Dissending Opinion published on he occasion of the "Evans v. the UK" controversial Judgement, that ECHR's President evoked Today in his Reply to "EuroFora"s 2nd Question, (Comp. Supra).
(../..)
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("DraftNews", as already send, earlier, to "EuroFora"'s Subscribers/Donors. A more accurate, full Final Version might be pubished asap).
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ECHR's President to "EuroFora" on Journalists Gongadze and Adali murders : Principles must apply to all States, without discrimination.
+ ECHR's Statistics on Freedom of Expression (See below).
European Court of Human Rights' President, Jean-Paul Costa, questioned by "EuroFora" on Journalists' murders, as in Gongadze and Adali's cases etc., strongly stressed all CoE Member States' obligation to make efficient Investigations to find and punish those responsible, and underlined that ECHR's case-law's principles must apply to all without any discrimination.
His call was clearly supported by various Top MEPs who denounced a risk of "Double Standards" if some Journalists' murders are investigated, while others don't.
To avoid such risks, CoE's Parliamentary Assembly adopted a Resolution, on the occasion of Ukranian Journalist Gongadze's murder, "stressing", as a matter of general Principle, "the importance it attaches to the safety of Journalists and political activists, especially those linked to opposition groups, in ALL member states of the CoE". All "crimes against journalists and political activists must be investigated ... as a matter of priority, without political interference".
Costa was replying to "EuroFora"s question on the fact that, after CoE's Committee of Ministers, also CoE's Assembly had just adopted a Resolution on Gongadze murder case, based on an ECHR's judgement of 2005, asking a full Investigation from Ukraine, who has found and condemned in 10 years of jail 2 executants, but not yet the instigators.
While nothing similar was yet done for dissident Turkish Cypriot Kutlu Adali's murder, with 5 bullets shot at his head out of his Family's home in the territories of Cyprus occupied by Ankara's army, despite another ECHR's judgement of the same year 2005, and despite Turkey's claim that nobody was found among those responsible for the murder, and that there was nothing more to do..
In order to be credible and efficient, CoE's mechanisms shouldn't find a way to at least ask for full investigations of all Journalists' murders anywhere they might be committed, without exceptions ?

- "On the larger question that you raised, I'd like to say, since we are in a period of stock-taking on ECHR's 50 Years, that the Court's case-law developed certain concepts ....such as the Positive obligations of States, part of which are also the procedural obligations", started to reply ECHR's President.
- "Whenever Journalists, Lawyers, Defenders of Human Rights, or even simple Citizens are murdered, the States are held responsible, not only if its their own security forces' agents who committed these murders, but also if they didn't make sufficiently substantial and efficient Investigations", he stressed.
- "I want to strongly underline that we (ECHR) have found in many cases numerous violations of Articles 2 and 3 against States, ....(about) murders or torture, ...because they didn't make enough Investigations in order to try to find and punish those responsible".
- "We (ECHR) do that vis-a-vis all 47 (CoE) Member States, without any discrimination".
"Naturally, the circumstances in each particular case may be differend, and we can't ommit to apply the rules of proof, or the rules of criminal procedure".
"But we try, by all means, to apply these principles of our case-law, to all States", he concluded.

Costa's call was strongly supported by several Top CoE MEPs, from various Political areas
- "To investigate the murder of one Journalist, and not of another, looks like Double Standards", denounced the President of EuroLeft Group in CoE's Assembly, Dutch MEP Tiny Cox.
- "What is the reason ? Politics or specificity of a case ? Of course, if Cyprus and Turkey are involved, it's always a Political case"..
- "Murders of Journalists should always be fully investigated, because killing Journalists is not only killing persons, but also killing Free Press". "We (CoE's Assembly) should do our outmost to help People who are working on Free Press and they are under threat or murdered".
Because for Free Politics, Free Press is a pre-requisitive : Parliamentarians cannot function without a Free Press. Not investigating, is not protecting ourselves".
So we should investigate all Journalists' murders : We are talking about Gongadze, about the Cypriot man (Adali), about the Journalist murdered in Moscow one week ago, etc", Cox concluded
- "CoE can' look at these cases differently. CoE can't wear Blinckers !".
- "If the one is investigated, so has to be also the other. Why there wasn't full investigation ? Why's that ?", wondered British Socialist MEP, Alan Meale.
- "A good idea" would be to "make a Motion for Resolution", and "join all Journalists' murders. Adali and Gongadze etc", said to "EuroFora" EU Parliament Political affairs Committee's President, Goran Lindbland, ChristianDemocrat MEP from Sweden.
(See also earlier News at "EuroFora" on similar issues).
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ECHR's Statistics on Freedom of Expression :
Almost Half of condemnations by ECHR for violations of Freedom of Expression in 2008, concern Turkey : 20 out of a total of 48 for all CoE's Member States.
Russia, Poland, France and Moldova were condemned only 3 times. Romania, Greece, Portugal, 2 times, and the other CoE Member States only 1 time, or none.
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During the last Decade : 1998 - 2008, Turkey was condemned for violating Freedom of Expression in ..169 cases, while Austria only in 24.
France and Moldova in 14 and 13, respectively, closely followed by Russia and Poland with 11 and 10, respectively. The rest of CoE Member States had less than ten condemnations.