SAVICKIS AND OTHERS v. LATVIA JUDGMENT
86. The relevant parts of Resolution 872(1987) of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe, entitled “Situation of the Baltic peoples”,
adopted on 28 January 1987, read as follows:
“The Assembly,
...
3. Recalling that the incorporation of the three Baltic states into the Soviet Union was
and still is a flagrant violation of the right to self-determination of peoples, and that it
remains unrecognised by the great majority of European states and many members of
the international community;
4. Considering that the elimination of the international problems created by this
incorporation demands solutions on the basis of the international obligations entered
into by the Soviet Union and other members of the international community;
...
6. Deploring the fact that, as a result of forced immigration into their area, the Baltic
peoples are brought under pressure to assimilate, and that the lack of possibilities for
education and cultural expression of their own is leading towards the loss of national
identity;
...
12. Appeals to the Government of the Soviet Union to respect the right to
self-determination and the human rights in the Baltic states;
13. Invites the governments of member states of the Council of Europe at the CSCE
Conference in Vienna and, if need be, at further CSCE meetings to draw the attention
of participating states to the serious violations of human rights and the right to
self-determination in the three Baltic states.”
B. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
(ECRI)
87. On 9 December 2011 the European Commission against Racism and
Intolerance (ECRI) during the fourth monitoring cycle adopted a report on
Latvia, which includes an assessment of the situation following the adoption
of the Andrejeva judgment (emphasis as in the original):
“129. ECRI would also like to express its concern in connection with certain
measures taken by the Latvian authorities further to the [Court’s] judgment in
Andrejeva v. Latvia ... ECRI was informed that further to this judgment, the authorities
submitted amendments to the State Pensions Act which “levelled down” the pension
entitlements for both citizens and “non-citizens”, thus treating citizens less favourably
than before. These amendments are still pending. ECRI once again stresses the negative
impact that the amendments, should they be adopted, may have on interethnic relations.
130. ECRI notes that in February 2011, the Constitutional Court declared that the
provision of the State Pensions Act that was of issue in Andrejeva v. Latvia was not in
breach of the Latvian Constitution. The court rejected the claims of the applicants
(similar to those of Andrejeva) on grounds that Ms Andrejeva’s case was exceptional
for she was physically working in the territory of Latvia. ECRI observes that the
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