DISSENTING SPECIAL OPINION OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY WITH A LARGE LOFT ECHR DECISION ON THE CASE OF «KONONOV AGAINST LATVIA’S» LEGAL ARGUMENTS
Doctor of Juridical Sciences, Professor, Department of International Law, The Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia; Head of Civil Law and Process Department, Volgograd State University
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Abstract. On 17 May 2010, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered a sensational Judgment in the case of Kononov v. Latvia, in which it actually agreed with the Latvian courts that Vasiliy Kononov, a Soviet Army soldier, commander of the Partisan Unit during the World War II, was a criminal of war. The disputable, contradictory legal position of the Grand Chamber, set out in the Judgment, and subjective, if not to say prejudged interpretation of the norms of international humanitarian law attracted public attention and caused fierce debates in the legal community. However, a new Judgment can be delivered in the case of Kononov if the ECHR satisfies the request of Kononov’s lawyers to review the case.
Key words: human rights, the European Court, Kononov v. Latvia, case-law, war crimes, retrospective law.