The House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament has endorsed a motion by MP Queeny Rajkowski (VVD), calling on the government, together with like-minded partners, to lodge an application against Georgia with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg under Article 33 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Dutch lawmaker’s motion states that the parliament:
- notes the Georgian authorities’ use of repressive legislation and police violence against peaceful demonstrators;
- considers that these developments reflect a trend of Georgia drifting toward the Russian model;
- takes into account that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has called on member states to exercise their right to lodge an inter-state complaint on this matter;
- urges the government, in concert with like-minded partners, to file an application against Georgia with the European Court of Human Rights under Article 33 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Queeny Rajkowski represents the centre-right liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and has been a member of the House of Representatives (the lower house of the Dutch parliament) since 2021. The party considers the defence of democratic institutions to be one of its fundamental principles.
Article 33 of the European Convention on Human Rights governs inter-state cases. Unlike ordinary citizens who submit applications under Article 34, Article 33 grants any member state of the European community the right to refer alleged widespread and systematic human rights violations by another member state to the Strasbourg court.
The appeal to the government, backed by the Dutch parliament—in this case, the House of Representatives—by 102 votes to 47, is not legally binding.
The Dutch government itself did not endorse MP Queeny Rajkowski’s motion and advised the House of Representatives to vote against it, “as it deemed the proposal legally vulnerable, excessively costly to implement, or entirely unfeasible.”