Yerevan /Mediamax/. On January 22, Grand Chamber of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will hold the next hearing of the case "Chiragov and Others v. Armenia”.

According to the ECHR's press release, the case concerns the applicants’- Elkhan Chiragov, Adishirin Chiragov, Ramiz Gebrayilov, Akif Hasanof, Fekhreddin Pashayev and Qaraca Gabrayilov who are all Azerbaijani nationals- complaint that they were forced to flee from their homes in the district of Lachin in1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mediamax reports.

The applicants complain in particular about the loss of their properties in Lachin, as well as various other possessions such as cars, livestock and handmade carpets. They also complain that there is no prospect for them in the foreseeable future to be able to use, sell, bequeath, mortgage or develop their property as the “Armenian government continues to refuse to allow them to return to Lachin”.

They rely on Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) and Articles 8 (right to respect for private and family life) and13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

It should be recalled that the “Chiragov and Others v. Armenia” case was  lodged with  the  European Court of  Human Rights on 6 April 2005. The Azerbaijani Government intervened as a third party.

A first Grand Chamber hearing on the admissibility and merits of the case was held on 15 September 2010. In a decision of 14 December 2011, the Court declared the complaints admissible. At the upcoming hearing, the Court will carry out a further examination of the merits.

In a decision of 14 December 2011, the Court declared the complaints admissible. First, it held  that the fact that negotiations within the OSCE about  the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict did not prevent the Court from examining the applicants’ complaints.

During the hearings scheduled for January 22, the Court will go one examining the case. After the hearings, the Court will continue the session in a "closed-door" format and the decision on the case might be published later.