The Constitution of Armenia recognises the human being to be the highest value, stipulating that the public power shall be restricted by the fundamental rights and freedoms of the human being and the citizen as directly applicable law.

Armenia is a member of numerous human rights protection treaties as well as recognises the competence of several international human rights organisations to investigate possible violations of international human rights law through individual applications. The mechanisms mentioned above provide for effective instruments not only for the elimination of violations of rights and freedoms but also for the prevention of breaches of those.

The most widely used international treaty in the field of human rights protection in Armenia is the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The State parties based on this Convention established The European Court of Human Rights, which has jurisdiction to hear both interstate cases and individual applications concerning the request of recognition and elimination of an alleged violation of rights and fundamental freedoms by a State party to the Convention. The European Court of Human Rights is an international judicial body, who oversees over the breaches of the European Convention on Human rights. The Member States, including the Republic of Armenia, must exercise the rights guaranteed by the Convention in domestic proceedings on the first place and the Court has additional jurisdiction when domestic remedies are unable to ensure the full protection of those rights. As a result of the examination of the case, the court may, by a legally binding decision, recognise a violation, compel a state to eliminate it, provide adequate compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage, and develop legal mechanisms to prevent such breaches in the future. According to the RA legislation, the decision of international human rights bodies serves as an independent basis for reviewing domestic court decisions.

An essential link in the protection of international human rights law is the international treaties concluded within the framework of the United Nations Organization, each of which provides mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of the Convention. The mentioned instrument is relatively new in Armenia and is still in its initial stage of development.

One of the monitoring mechanisms is the regular compulsory self-reporting on the implementation of the Convention submitted by the Member States. At the same time, the additional protocols to the conventions provide for independent bodies consisting of experts in the relevant field, which are competent to consider both individual and interstate applications (there are seven of such bodies, but the Republic of Armenia has not yet accepted the jurisdiction of all of them). The procedure of applying to the UN bodies, being new in the Armenian practical reality, constitutes a relatively more rapid procedure in comparison to that of the ECHR.

Concern Dialog law firm provides legal assistance both in the framework of elimination of the violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms through domestic protection mechanisms and applying to the bodies described above. 

Human rights proceedings in non-judicial bodies, including the proceedings of human rights commissioners in various structures, as well as reports adopted by political bodies (e.g. PACE) and international non-governmental organisations (Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, European Prison Litigation Network, etc.) are an essential element in the protection of human rights. The latter is even more critical in stating the facts and acquiring legal assessments. 

Concern Dialog law firm offers the following services within the practice of the international law of human rights:

• Drafting of a comprehensive analysis of violations of international human rights law, based on the case law established by international organisations, the inclusion of results of the research in national procedural documents and drafting of claims to ensure the direct application of the mentioned norms in domestic courts,
• filing an application with the European Court of Human Rights, as well as submitting motions, including the rules of consideration by way of priority (rules 40 and 41) and the application of interim measures (rule 39); representation in the initiated proceedings, as well as at the hearings of the complaint (if hearings are taking place),
• filing individual complaints with the Human Rights Committee on violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, submission of motions on the application of the relevant procedural rule, including the interim measures, further representation in the initiated proceedings,
• filing an individual complaint with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, submission of motions on the application of the relevant procedural rule, including the interim measures, further representation in the initiated proceedings,
• filing complaints with the United Nations Human Rights Council concerning human rights and fundamental freedoms, representation in the initiated proceedings,
• communication management with international human rights organisations, submission of applications and complaints, related materials, including the preparation of applications seeking the attention of the CoE Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Commissioner for Human Rights,
• communication management with various international non-governmental organisations involved in the protection of human rights, submission of relevant materials.