CYIL Vol. 4, 2013

SOME GUARANTEES REGARDING CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS APPLICABLE … a business corporation only; however, a wider understanding of this notion gives us a meaning that is opposite to the term “natural person”, namely an artificial person 5 or a non-living entity regarded by law to have the status of personhood. Generally, these fictitious persons can be divided into two groups. The first group contains entities aiming to obtain a profit: companies, corporations, firms, and many others. To the second group belong structures which were not primarily established for the purpose of gaining financial profit. Very often these are called a non-governmental organization, or shortly “NGO”. Nevertheless, as we will see from the examples given below, the abbreviation “NGO” does not always refer to organizations which do not pursue the aim of obtaining financial profit. For example, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 6 (hereinafter referred to as the “Convention”) has a special meaning of the notion “non-governmental organization”. The detailed explanation of this term will be given in the following section. The present article will deal with some aspects of the status of NGOs under the Convention, namely their rights and guarantees in criminal proceedings. When describing the position of legal persons under the Convention, many legal theorists refer only to Articles 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14 of the Convention and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1. 7 Analysis of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as the “Court”) shows, however, that a number of provisions contained in the Convention and its Protocols on which the non-governmental organizations (hereinafter referred to also as the “NGO”), in the capacity of an applicant, may rely is considerably higher and includes Articles 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14 of the Convention, Articles 1 and 3 of Protocol No. 1, as well as Articles 2, 3 and 4 of Protocol No. 7. 8 Rachel A. Cichowski 9 notes that some NGOs in their submissions also invoked 5 Deiser, G. The Juristic Person, University of Pennsylvania Law Review and American Law Register , Vol. 57, No. 3, Volume 48, New Series (Dec., 1908), pp. 131-142. Published by The University of Pennsylvania Law Review. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3313312. 6 European Convention on Human Rights as amended by Protocols Nos. 11 and 14. Council of Europe Treaty Series, No. 5. ISBN 978-92-871-6929-7. 7 See for example, Lindblom, A. K. Non-Governmental Organizations in International Law . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 176, 255 and Kučera, M. Responsibility of the state under the Convention in connection of non-state actors and applicability of the Convention in business . Stát vs. Nestátní aktéři / Česká společnost pro mezinárodní právo.[State vs. Non-state actors / Czech Society of International Law] – Praha: Česká společnost pro mezinárodní právo [Czech Society of International Law], 2012, p. 168. 8 For details see, Tymofeyeva, A. The legal status of non-governmental organisations under the European Convention on Human Rights and consequences in international law (Právní postavení nevládních organizací podle Evropské úmluvy o lidských právech a důsledky v mezinárodním právu) in: Nové trendy odpovědnosti a řešení sporů v mezinárodním právu (vliv nestátních aktérů): studie z mezinárodního práva, – 1. [New trends of responsibility and resolving of conflicts in international law (the influence of non-state actors): studies from internatinal law] – 1. vyd. – Praha: Univerzita Karlova, právnická fakulta, [Published – Prague: Charles University School of Law] 2012, pp. 110-111. 9 Cichowsku, R. Civil Society and the European Court of Human Rights. M. Madsen and J. Christoffersen, eds. The European Court of Human Rights between Law and Politics . Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 82.