03.11.2022


Professor Thomas Hochmann of the University of Nanterre, Paris, delivered his second lecture titled “The Armenian Genocide before the European Court of Human Rights” in the AGMI conference hall yesterday. It was dedicated to the “Perinchek v. Switzerland” case that has been under way in the ECHR for almost two-years.

Professor Hochmann presented the process of the case in detail and referred to the decisions made by the Chamber and the Grand Chamber, showing their flawed aspects.

Unlike the Chamber of the ECHR, it was stated, in the judgment adopted by the Grand Chamber in October 2015, that the court was not obliged to determine whether the massacres and mass deportations of the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire may be described as genocide and that the court did not have the authority to issue legally binding statements. Seven of the 17 judges of the Grand Chamber, including the President of the ECHR, stated in their special opinion that the massacres and deportations suffered by the Armenian people were genocide and that the Armenian Genocide is a clearly established historical fact.

The court defended Dogu Perinchek’s right to freedom of speech with a small majority of votes but, according to Prof. Hochmann, that decision refers to the specifics of the given case. The ECHR Court may, in other cases, adopt a contrary decision if it is possible to prove the effect of the denial of the Armenian Genocide spreads discrimination against Armenians, inciting violence or causing severe psychological trauma.

At the end of the lecture Edita Gzoyan, AGMI Deputy Director of Scientific Works, thanked Professor Hochmann for his two days of lectures, expressing the hope that cooperation between the AGMI and Nanterre University will continue.