Remedy for unjust wars in Europe: The Cyprus v. Turkey just satisfaction case

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is the longest standing international human rights court. Since its establishment in 1959, it has delivered about 18,000 judgments. The court’s case law on applications lodged by individuals against member states to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) abounds and much has been written on its role in promoting the protection of human rights in Europe and establishing a European public order. Interstate cases however, are by comparison scarce. Only five judgments have been delivered by the Court so far. Two of them were delivered on the Cyprus v. Turkey (IV) case, the first in 2001 and the second in 2014 (Just Satisfaction case). The latter is considered to represent the most crucial contribution to European peace in the history of the court, as highlighted by the two concurring judges.
This review analyses whether this superlative is apt. The Cyprus v. Turkey (IV) just satisfaction case is of particular importance for a number of reasons. It is the first time that the ECtHR awarded just satisfaction in an inter-state case. Second, it is the first time that the ECtHR accepted satisfaction claims in an inter-state dispute that was fuelled by the military invasion and occupation of one member state by another. Third, the ECtHR advanced an analytical distinction of interstate cases in order to assess just satisfaction claims. Finally, by drawing from international law sources, the ECtHR developed the admissibility criteria for assessing the passage of time for such just satisfaction claims.