CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Zantaraia, Ana |
|---|---|
| Title | From Recognition to Remedy: The European Court of Human Rights' Approach to Property Restitution for Internally Displaced Persons in Disputed Post-Conflict Territories -- The Case of Abkhazia, Georgia |
| Summary | The law may recognise displaced persons’ property rights, but turning that recognition into meaningful restitution remains one of the most difficult challenges in post-conflict justice. Restitution of property is often considered the ideal remedy for displacement. International law supports this idea in theory, but turning it into reality is far more complex. This thesis investigates how the European Court of Human Rights has adjudicated cases involving property claims in post-conflict zones with disputed territorial control and what this reveals about its approach to restitution, particularly in contexts such as Abkhazia, Georgia. The study situates property restitution within the broader context of international law, exploring relevant key human rights standards before narrowing its scope to Abkhazia, Georgia, where the Georgian state’s loss of effective control complicates access to justice. A central part of this research involves carefully examining the Court’s relevant case law, which reveals a consistent judicial approach: a tension between the Court’s recognition of property rights and its hesitation to demand full restitution, hesitation often justified by political sensitivities, enforcement limitations and the passage of time. For Georgian internally displaced persons from Abkhazia, legal victories in Strasbourg carry symbolic power, but they struggle to restore what was lost. This thesis underscores the need to close the gap between legal recognition and actual remedy and recommends coordinated political engagement and stronger international support. Without such measures, the Court’s judgments may ultimately reaffirm rights without delivering justice. Keywords: European Court of Human Rights; Internally Displaced Persons; Property Restitution; Abkhazia, Georgia; Post-Conflict Justice; Disputed Territories; Effective Control; Frozen Conflicts. |
| Supervisor | Riemer, Lena |
| Department | Legal Studies LLM |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/zantaraia_ana.pdf |
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