Item 9 - Litigation Project emails, April-May 2002

18pp

Printouts of email correspondence between Françoise Hampson, Aisling Reidy, Kevin Boyle, and Tony Fisher regarding the recent spate of friendly settlement imposed by the European Court of Human Rights in Kurdish litigation cases against Turkey, in which the Court began accepting unilateral declarations from the Turkish Government and ex gratia offers of payment to applicants rather than continuing to examine cases. The Litigation Project members state their pessimism regarding the efficacy of the Court in litigating Kurdish cases, and lament the lack of addressing of applicants' claims and the court's apparent refusal to press the Turkish Government. Also discussed is the impending winding up of the Litigation Project (on 13 April 2002, Boyle writes 'The chapter is closed for all of us. There are only the frustrating aftermaths - settlements and follow up with COM which have been going on for at least two years and probably another two. This chapter is over for us in other words. We have no resources to intervene, such as by appeals. We have no support base in Turkey and it goes without saying elsewhere. We certainly cannot put the compensation offers for applicants at risk in our circumstances. Our critique of the settlements and the undoubted retreat by the Court, can be done through writing but the main message is that we are no longer players and should not try to be... ...Ten years on, we should focus on closing down efficiently and without debts. Practical matters should be our focus such as where the case files are to be stored and a target of end of September to close the project down. We must also of course keep up the work Françoise has spearheaded in seeking to get the Turks to pay up applicants and our costs. But otherwise it is time to move on.' Hampson also expresses exasperation with some of the Diyarbakır-based lawyers with whom they have been working.

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