EU sanctions on Russian and Crimean individuals may face challenge in a court! ----- The EU sanctions imposed on 17.3.2014 on 21 Russian and Crimean individuals do not seem to agree with the constitutions and principles of rule-of-law of most EU countries, and in particular not with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), says the Finnish lawyer and philosopher Jon Hellevig and his compatriot Peter Iiskola, who is a former Judge with experience in international Iran-US State arbitration, Council of Europe and UN. Hellevig and Iiskola composed a quick first attached legal statement in the matter just hours after the sanctions were published in the press. -Aristotle said that when a man is at his best, he is the noblest of all animals; but separated from law and justice, he is the worst, says Iiskola. -We are obviously on the path to the worst with the growing omnipotent EU-structure and hasty enlargement of the EU. In this speed the justice and law is ignored. Omnipotent structures seldom need or follow principles of justice and law, and even less do they care about individuals, like in the case of sanctions against these 21 individuals, reminds Iiskola. The Foreign Ministers of EU imposed sanctions on 21 individuals from Russia and Crimea. -However, the Foreign Ministers are not a Court, but still they act as a Court or more like a Political Tribunal, which I thought was left far into the history in Europe, but now we have it revisited again. But I hope that these sanctions will be contested in a real court in any or in all EU and European countries abiding to ECHR, adds Iiskola. In ECHR there is a rule “no punishment without law” (Article 7). This means that “No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under national or international law at the time when it was committed.” This article 7 has to be read together with article 6, “the right to a fair trial”. Quote: “In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law.” We note from the quote that this applies not only to criminal offences but also all of the persons “civil rights”. Quote: “Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.” The freezing of individual assets is not legal. Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the ECHR protects the property rights. Quote: “Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law.” Thus, any freezing of assets by arbitrarily selected persons is contrary to the ECHR and the laws of EU and each individual member country. Iiskola reminds about the old Roman principle Nemo iudex in causa sua. It is a Latin phrase that means, literally, no-one should be a judge in his own cause or where he has an interest. The rule is very strictly applied to any appearance of a possible bias, even if there is actually none. Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done. -This new Political Tribunal against 21 individuals is biased. It was the very same Ministers who offered an association agreement to Ukraine, but when it was not accepted, then followed the EU-supported street unrest, which ultimately lead to 100 death victims in 24 just hours, and a coup which threw out from the window all principles of law in Ukraine. This is where EU both was and still is separated from the law and justice. This is why this Political Tribunal is the worst and last to judge any individuals, says Iiskola. -The 21 sanctioned by this Political Tribunal have, as far as I know, no blood on their hands. But these Ministers in the Tribunal have at least some blood of the demonstrators on their hands. The whole world has clearly heard the Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet telling the EU Foreign Police Chief Lady Ashton that the rebels themselves allegedly gave orders to shoot demonstrators, obviously in order to have a just cause for the coup. These rebels were supported by EU and their leaders are now ruling what is left of Ukraine in the Kiev coup government, says Iiskola.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 02:20:42 +0000
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