Aliyev announces that Azerbaijan will no longer consider ECHR decisions valid

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has stated that if Azerbaijan could not participate in the election of judges for the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), then it would consider all ECHR decisions to be invalid.

According to a press release by the official presidential administration, Aliyev argued that ‘none of the decisions of the European Court are valid for us because we were deprived of our voting rights’.

‘We did not vote for these judges. We don't know who these judges are. So, I think the Council of Europe shot itself in the foot. They wanted to discriminate against Azerbaijan, to isolate us, but actually, they isolated themselves from the Caucasus’, Aliyev said.

Aliyev’s comments were made at an international forum titled ‘Facing the New World Order’, which was held at ADA University on Wednesday. In particular, he was responding to a question by former Spanish MP Jordi Xucla, who had previously participated in the Spanish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and was an observer to Azerbaijan’s 2015 parliamentary elections.

In January 2024, PACE refused to approve the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation, citing Azerbaijan's failure to fulfill its basic obligations arising from membership in the Council of Europe.

In particular, PACE cited the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh at the time, noting that ‘Azerbaijan’s leadership did not acknowledge the very serious humanitarian and human rights consequences stemming from the lack of free and safe access through the Lachin corridor’, while also recalling its condemnation of the September 2023 military operation which led to the flight of the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and allegations of ‘ethnic cleansing’.

During his statement on Wednesday, Aliyev additionally praised the Georgian delegation for suspending its presence at the Council of Europe.

‘I fully support the decision of the Georgian government to put an end to their presence there because, again, it was discrimination’, Aliyev said.

The work of the Georgian delegation in PACE has been virtually suspended since January 2025, when the Georgian government announced it was freezing its participation.

This decision followed a vote in which PACE agreed to accept the Georgian delegation’s credentials with limits and specific conditions, which included that new parliamentary elections be announced and those detained during the protests would be released.

Human rights lawyer Nazim Musayev told OC Media that he did not believe Aliyev's speech would change much in regards to ECHR decisions.

‘I don't think the situation with Azerbaijan and the ECHR will be like Russia’s. I don’t think the situation will reach that stage. I think it’s just a statement that was made for some audience. Because when Azerbaijan entered the Council of Europe, it took on responsibilities’, Musayev said.

CoE Human Rights Commissioner O’Flaherty highlights plight of Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan

Michael O’Flaherty’s comments came as part of his first annual report to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

OC MediaXandie (Alexandra) Kuenning